Tragic Soul
by InuyashaPuppyDog
Summary: Continuation of Mystery of the White Witch. 10 years have passed since Kagome disappeared and she has been living as a normal human named Diana King.How will she react to Inuyasha and her previous world of demons, magic and 122 pups?
1. Chapter 1

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 1

The young woman fixed her hair in her dresser mirror after getting dressed. She brushed her long black hair that came to her hips. Her green eyes sparkled with a fiery beauty. The face that stared back was one of young beauty. The doctors had estimated her age at about 18 or 19 but that was 10 years ago. Even though she figured she was about 28, she still looked 18. She looked at her face. All the surgeries and yet not a single scar. Not matter what she did to herself, her body healed faster than other people. She wondered why and wondered if the face that stared back at her from the mirror was her real face.

She stared a moment longer before turning to the tv. They had just finished announcing the weather. Typical San Diego. Warm, and sunny. How boring. Maybe she should move to New York or Maine. She missed the snow,

'_Missed_?', she thought to herself, "I don't even remember snow. Did I live in an area with snow?", she asked herself.

She gathered her bag and looked at her watch. 6:15 am. She had better get on the road. The tv news blared,

"Investigators are searching for clues into a terrible case of animal cruelty. Lead officials are saying it may be the work of voodoo occultists ..."

The woman shook her head and shut off the tv. Heading out the door, she locked it behind her. Jumping into her silver Ford Mustang, she pulled out and headed into her workaday world. Arriving an hour later at the medical office where she worked as a receptionist, she opened up the door and locked it behind her as she sat at the desk marked "Diana King" and prepared the office for the days clients.

_Later:_

The private Lear jet glided and landed smoothly at the executive airport. A young man who looked about 27 grabbed his suitcase and walked off the plane,

"Good day, Mr. Kateitenma.", the pilot said to him as he walked off the plane and he nodded to the man in uniform.

Heading into the waiting limosine, he went over the plans in his head. Once he met with Kagome, aka "Diana King", he would take her out to dinner. He had made reservations at the classiest human restaurant in town. Nervous, he fiddled with the gold chain that lay around his neck. Izayoi had given him the necklace whose spell kept his demon features veiled. She promised it would even fool her mother's keen senses.

He looked over various pictures that he had brought with him. Her mother had given most to him. These were of her childhood and her friends as a teenager. His mind drifted to their days travelling and searching for the Shikon Jewel and Naraku. He had brought pictures from those times too. Kagome had brought a camera back to the feudal times and took pictures of her friends. There was Miroku, Sango, Kaede, Kirara, and Shippou. Kirara and Shippou still lived in the modern times. Shippou was an ad executive for Sesshoumaru's company as well as for Inuyasha. Poor Shippou was beside himself when Kagome went missing 10 years ago. Like Inuyasha, he too never believed that Kagome had died. Shippou knew a thing or two about magic and was sure Adimara had transported Kagome somewhere far away. It seemed he may have been correct.

Pulling up to the hotel, the doorman opened the car door to allow Inuyasha to step out of the car. Inuyasha walked into the hotel and was greeted by the desk clerk,

"Ahh, Mr. Kateitenma, we've been expecting you. Your brother called and said you would be arriving today."

"Very well. Is my room ready?", Inuyasha asked as nicely as he could muster. He hated courtesies.

"Yes. the executive suite, just as requested."

"Thank you."

Inuyasha headed to the elevator with his suitcase. He had denied any assistance. Arriving to his room, he sat on the bed and immediately called the San Diego Sun,

"Hello. San Diego Sun. How may I direct your call?", The female voice on the other end said.

"Yes. May I please speak with reporter, uh, James Ingram?", Inuyasha said.

"Certainly sir. May I tell him who's calling?"

"He doesn't know me, but my name is Kateitenma and I know something about his missing person, Diana King. The one with amnesia."

"Yes, sir. I will get him on the phone. Please hold on...", she said as music replaced her voice.

Inuyasha drummed his fingers on the table as he waited impatiently for the reporter to come on the line. Finally,

"Hello, James Ingram here."

"Yes, Mr. Ingram, my name is Kateitenma. Inuyasha Kateitenma. And I know who your Diana King really is."

"Really?", Inuyasha could hear the reporter scrambling for something to write with,

"How do you spell your name, Mr., uhhh, Kateitenma?"

"I - N - U - Y - A - S - H - A ... K - A - T - E - I - T - E - N - M - A", Inuyasha spelled out.

"Oh ... are you Korean?"

"Japanese.", Inuyasha replied with a twinge of irritability.

"And how do you know Ms. King?"

"She's my missing wife, Kagome."


	2. Chapter 2

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 2

"She's your ... wife?", the reporter stammered.

"Yes. My wife has been missing for 10 years and was presumed dead. Our, uhh, son, saw the paper with her picture in it and recognized her as his mother.", Inuyasha replied, trying to reveal as little as possible.

"Mr. Kateitenma, how old is your son?", the reporter queried.

"Is that important?", replied Inuyasha, not wanting to reveal Bunza's age - even in demon years. He was aware that Kagome, being a mystic, barely looked old enough to be married for more than 10 years let alone to have a son that appeared about 19 but was really over 400 years old.

"No, it's not. I just thought it would make an interesting side note to the story that a youngster recognizes his mother in the paper after she's been missing for 10 years.", Inuyasha could hear the skepticism in the man's voice - Inuyasha knew the man was figuring that the "child" was a toddler when his mother disappeared. How would he recognize his mother after so long?

The man continued, "Pardon me from being a skeptic, but many people have come forward claiming to know Ms. King. None of them have been able to provide proof to the fact. Can you?"

"I have her Canadian driver's license. And pictures from her childhood from her mother in Tokyo. Plus, if I can speak with her, I know some personal, um, information that can convince her.", Inuyasha continued.

"So you're from Canada? That explains why you never heard of our search for her real identity when she first appeared here. And that would explain why we never heard of any search for her,", Mr. Ingram started, "But, if you can understand, we want to protect her privacy. I will need to speak with her before we let you meet her."

"Mr. Ingram, I can understand that, yes, but I would appreciate expediency. I miss my wife and I would like to see her again very soon.", Inuyasha explained.

"Mr. Kateitenma, can I have a phone number where you can be reached?"

"Yes. I'm staying at the Sheraton Plaza Downtown. Room 842. Number 619 - 555 - 1234. I look forward to hearing from you very soon.", Inuyasha said as he hung up the phone.

At the newspaper, the reported hung up his phone,

"Who was that, Jim?", asked a fellow reporter.

"Oh. Another crackpot who says he knows Diana King. She's beautiful and lots of guys call to say they know her. This guy says his son recognized his mother in the paper. Says she's his wife missing from 10 years ago. Can you believe that? According to Ms. King, when doctors were trying to help her figure out who she was they told her she was a virgin. Christ! How can she have a kid?"

"Adoption? Step-child?", said the other reporter.

"Maybe, Jack. But, still, after over a thousand calls, I'm skeptical. He does say he has her driver's license though. And that she's from Canada."

"Well, did I hear you say his name correctly? Kateitenma?", asked Jack.

"Yea, something like that. Difficult name to pronounce. He's a Jap, he says, which fits since she's Jap too.", said Jim.

"Well, watch what you say around him.", said Jack.

"Oh? Why?"

"Because Kateitenma is a powerful name in world circles. I would know, being a market reporter. Inuyasha Kateitenma is the richest man in Japan AND Canada.", said Jack.

"Richest?", asked Jim.

"If he is, in fact, Ms. King's husband, your Ms. King is worth billions!", said Jack, as he walked away.

"Hmmmm ...", said Jim, as he turned around in his chair, "Billions, huh?", he picked up his phone and nimbly dialed a phone number. A woman answered,

"Alpine Medical Center, Can I help you?"

"Yes, Diana, how are you today? It's Jim Ingram from the Sun."

"Hi, Mr. Ingram. I'm fine, how are you?"

"Good. Good. Listen, I just had another call from a man claiming he knows who you are."

"Oh, Mr. Ingram, I'm tired of this. It was a bad idea what my friends did. Can we forget about this? Tell this guy to forget it.", Diana said.

"Well, he says he's your husband and that you have a son ...", Ingram started.

"Jim, I'm a virgin. I can't be married unless it was never consummated ...", Diana finished the statement.

"Well, he says he has your driver's license. From Canada. And photos of you as a child from Tokyo. And get this, his last name is Kateitenma. Does that ring any bells?", Ingram asked.

"Can't say that it does.", Diana replied.

"Well, according to my sources, Kateitenma is the richest man in Japan and Canada. If this guy is telling the truth then you are worth big bucks, sweetie."

Diana's eyes widened. '_Why would a rich man, hell, supposedly the richest man in Japan and Canada be saying she was his missing wife_?', she thought.

"Diana?", came the voice on the other line.

"I'm ... I'm still here ...just in shock, I guess.", she replied.

"Well, even if he is a crackpot, he's a rich crackpot. It may be worth your time to go along with what he says, if you get my meaning.", Ingram said with a sneer.

"Look, Jim. I've got patients waiting. I have to go.", Diana said.

"He wants to see you, Diana.", said Jim.

"Ok. I'll meet him at your office tonight, alright? Say 6 pm? Oh ...and what did he say my name was?", said Diana.

"He said it was Kagome. And 6 pm it is. I'll call and tell him. Bye, Diana.", said Jim.

"Bye Jim.", Diana said as she hung up the phone.

Turning to another receptionist beside her, she asked,

"Julie, can you cover for me? I need a break. Now.", she said.

"Sure thing, kid. Another person calling to say they know you?", asked the older receptionist.

"Yea. And I need to call Flora. Fast."

"Ok, kid. Take your time. It's slow."

Diana stood up and hurried out to her car. With trembling fingers, she took out her cell phone and dialed the old familiar number. Flora was the nurse who had assisted her from the moment she arrived in the ER at San Diego General 10 years ago. The nurse had kept checking up on her and they became fast friends that lasted to this day. The phone rang and Diana waited nervously for the call to be picked up,

"Emergency Room?"

"Flora Hernandez, please.", Diana said.

"One moment, please ..." the voice said, then,

"Flora Hernandez speaking."

"Flora! It's Diana. You won't believe this!"


	3. Chapter 3

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 3

"Diana! What happened?", asked the woman on the other line.

"Jim just called me. He has another man claiming to know me.", Diana said, breathlessly.

"Not again. Oh, Diana, I am so sorry for getting the newspaper involved ...", Flora began.

"Well, this guy's name is Kateitenma and he's Japanese like me. He says he's my husband and that ..."

Flora interrupted, "That's impossible. You're a virgin, remember? You couldn't have had a husband unless you never consummated the marriage."

"Flora, he says he has my driver's license ... I... I don't know what to do. Jim says he wants to meet me and I'm meeting him at Jim's office tonight at 6 ...", Diana rushed through her sentence.

"Diana, just forget about this guy. You know Jim has the hots for you - why don't you go out with him and forget about your past ...", said Flora.

"I'm not interested in him. Besides, this guy is from Canada ... remember I said I like snow? And he says he has pictures of me from my childhood and ... and ... he's rich too!"

"Rich?"

"Yea - Jim says he's the richest man in Japan and Canada."

"Hmmm. An interesting possibility. But, still, if he's rich he's probably eccentric and you don't want to get mixed up in that.", said Flora.

"Well, I've decided to meet him and I will. I don't know ... something feels different about this one ... I can't explain it ... but deep in my soul ...", Diana's voice trailed off.

"Just be careful, Diana, and don't get taken in by any schemes. I know you're desperate to find out about your past but you can't change facts. I can't see how you could have had a husband in Canada and wind up here in California. I'd like to hear his story.", said Flora.

"Well, I'll keep you informed. I gotta go ... I gotta get back to work. Bye.", said Diana, hanging up her cell phone and rushing back into her job.

Meanwhile ...

Inuyasha finished shopping in the classy downtown district. Purchasing a black Armani suit with a light blue shirt, Kagome's favorite color, gold cufflinks and the best Italian shoes, he headed back to his hotel room. He had also purchased a dress and shoes for Kagome, figuring Diana King wouldn't have an outfit nice enough for O'Hannery's, the finest restaurant in town. He ordered flowers to be delivered just before he left, and, right at 5:30, they were delivered. A dozen yellow and orange tiger lilies interspersed with a dozen purple roses and baby's breath - Kagome's favorite. Inuyasha looked in the mirror. The fine Italian gold necklace lay around his neck covering his demon features so that even he saw a human staring back at him. Dressed to kill, he looked devilishly young and handsome, belying the fact that he was over 600 years old.

Inuyasha climbed into the back of the limousine and told the driver to head to the San Diego Sun building. Arriving there promptly at 6 pm, Inuyasha climbed out with flowers and Kagome's new dress in tow. Heading into the building, he was directed to the newsroom and James Ingram.

Ingram was waiting for Inuyasha. He was curious about the man who claimed to know Diana, as he was with any man interested in her. One of the foreign correspondents who spoke Japanese mentioned that Kateitenma meant "Family of Demons" with the correct kanji and that Inuyasha translated into something like "spirit dog of the forest". He had to meet this man.

He looked up and saw a well dressed young Japanese man walk into the newsroom with a huge bouquet of flowers and something draped over his arm. He looked like an average Japanese man except he had long black hair pulled back into a pony tail.

Getting up, he walked over to the man,

"Excuse me, are you, by chance, Mr. Kateitenma?", asked the reporter.

Transferring a box to his left hand, Inuyasha held out his right and said, "Yes. That's me. You are Ingram, yes?"

The men shook hands and Ingram nodded and said, "Yes, I am."

Inuyasha couldn't wait, "Is Kagome here yet?"

"No, Diana isn't here yet. I see you came to impress.", Ingram said sarcastically.

Inuyasha's shackles went up, "No. I came with items I hoped would jog her memory.", he said, caustically. He was beginning not to like this man.

"You said you have her driver's license?", Ingram asked, trying to diffuse the situation before Diana arrived.

Inuyasha placed the items on a desk and pulled out his wallet. Pulling out her driver's license, he handed it to Ingram,

"Birthdate 1982 ... that makes her 33 and yet she doesn't look a day older than 18. She must come from good stock.", the man laughed at his joke that Inuyasha found tasteless, "Well, I must say, it looks like her, but I can't say it is her...", he was interrupted by a female voice,

"Jim, I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic was snarled."

Inuyasha looked up and his eyes widened with excitement. After 10 years, his wife stood in front of him,

"KAGOME!", was all he could say.


	4. Chapter 4

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 4

Diana stared at the handsome, young japanese man with the long black ponytail that hung below his buttocks. She had hoped when she saw the man it would bring back all of her memories, but, alas, nothing.

Inuyasha repeated, "Kagome. It's me, Inuyasha. Don't you remember? Anything at all?"

Ingram smirked to himself, '_Good. Still nothing. Her memory is toast_.', he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry, but no, I don't remember.", Diana said, sadly.

Inuyasha handed her the flowers, which she took happily, but with tears in her eyes. None of the other people who had claimed to know her had tried this hard to make her remember,

"Tiger lilies ... and mini purple roses ... with baby's breath ... your favorite bouquet ... I used to always get them for you when I was in the dog house!", he laughed quietly.

"Inuyasha ... I don't know what to say ...they're beautiful.", the way she looked at him sent his mind reeling back over 10 years. She still looked like his Kagome after all this time.

"And we have reservations at O'Hannery's for 7:30 ...", he started to say.

"O'Hannery's?", she queried, then looked down at her clothes of medical scrubs, "But I don't own anything that I can wear to there ..."

Inuyasha whipped out the dress and shoes. Diana stared at the beautiful, sarong style emerald green dress with matching shoes. Tears came to her eyes again.

"You didn't have to do that ...", she cried.

Inuyasha came over and took her chin in his fingers,

"My wife always liked to look her best. Now try it on. I want to see if I am still as good at picking out clothes for you as I once was.", he said quietly.

Kagome took the outfit and excused herself as Inuyasha smiled at her. She blushed.

'_He's very handsome and kind_.', she thought to herself, as she went into the bathroom.

Ingram watched her go. He could tell she was smitten with the new man already,

"So how do you know she hasn't changed in size? It has been 10 years, after all.", he said smugly to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha replied, just as smugly, "I know. Just wait and see. I know."

Inuyasha knew he would have to go slowly. He couldn't just come out and tell her he was a demon. After nearly 500 years of being with Kagome, he had learned some things, after all. Plus, his pups had warned him not to rush things with her. They warned it could be a delicate situation.

In the bathroom, Diana looked over the outfit Inuyasha had brought her. It even included her incidentals - a green lacey strapless bra, black panties with a garter belt and black, fishnet hose,

"Damn. Maybe I am Kagome. How else would he know that I like all these things?", she queried to no one but herself.

Dressing up in the outfit, she admired herself in the mirror,

"I could never afford this on my salary. Vera Wang, hm?", she noticed the designer's name, "He must be worth money."

Checking her makeup in the mirror and brushing her long, black hair, she sashayed out of the bathroom.

"So, your name means 'spirit dog of the forest', eh Inuyasha?", asked Ingram.

"Something like that.", Inuyasha replied, nonchalantly.

"Interesting choice for a name. Your parents had a sense of humor?", Ingram asked.

Inuyasha didn't look at him. He had learned long ago to avoid being baited, "Whatever.", he replied with a wave of his hand and then his mouth watered.

Walking toward them was a raven-haired beauty. Just as he remembered her, Kagome/Diana walked toward him in the green dress that hugged her every curve. With a peek-a-boo hole at the bosom, the dress was a form-fitting perfect fit. Not too tight and not too loose, Kagome/Diana looked like a vision as she stopped before them.

Inuyasha looked at Ingram, who was also salivating, and he slapped Ingram's arm,

"That's my wife you're staring at and, " he said, "I told you so. Kagome? How do you like it?"

"Oh, Inuyasha. I feel like Cinderella going to the ball.", she said, cheerily.

Bowing slightly, Inuyasha waved his hand, and said, "Well, Cinderella, your chariot awaits."

"Bye, Jim.", Diana waved as she walked past both men and Inuyasha followed behind. Walking outside, she was greeted by a black, stretch limousine. The driver opened the door, and she and Inuyasha climbed in. Inuyasha offered her a glass of water,

"I know you don't like to drink before you eat. So here's a glass of water with two lemon slices. Just like you prefer it.", he said.

Diana/Kagome was impressed. She had always wondered whether the things she liked boded for what she liked in her past. So far, it seemed it did. In her gut, however, something seemed wrong. Something seemed false about the man beside her. Every now and then, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw his hair turn silver and then when she would look straight on him, his hair was black. Was she going crazy?

They chatted amicably about her life over the past ten years as they drove on to O'Hannery's. Arriving at the restaurant, the driver opened the door and the doorman allowed them entrance. Inuyasha spoke to the maitre'd,

"Reservation for Kateitenma, please.", he said, as he slipped the maitre'd a bill, "Best table, quiet location.", he whispered.

"Certainly, sir.", the maitre'd responded, showing them to a private table overlooking the bay with a huge window. You could see the boats out for an evening sail as the sun set.

The two looked over the menu as their waiter appeared,

"Good evening. My name is Peter and I will be your server tonight. May I get you anything from the bar?"

"Yes, my good man.", Inuyasha replied, "I will have a 1925 brandy and the lady here will have a white wine spritzer."

Kagome/Diana was a little miffed at this. How dare he order for her? And what was a white wine spritzer?

"Certainly, sir. Right away.", the waiter said as he left the table.

"Ok. Can I order my own drinks from now on?", Diana/Kagome said, with a twinge of annoyance in her voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You always order a white wine spritzer so I figured ...", Inuyasha stated.

Diana/Kagome calmed down and asked, "What is a white wine spritzer, anyway?"

The waiter returned and placed the brandy snifter in front of Inuyasha and a wine glass in front of Diana/Kagome,

"Here you are, sir. 1925 Brandy. Our finest. And, for the lady, a white wine spritzer.", with that, the waiter winked at Diana/Kagome.

Inuyasha slapped his hand over the waiter's hand and hissed,

"Do that again and I will remove your eyes here and now.", Inuyasha said and then smiled an unassuming smile.

The waiter straightened up and said,

"Certainly sir.", and hurried away.

Inuyasha turned back to Kagome/Diana and smiled,

"Jealous, aren't we, Inuyasha?", Kagome/Diana said to him.

Motioning with his hands, he said, "Just a bit."

Kagome/Diana squirmed in her seat. Was this guy a psycho or something? She tried the drink and decided it was delicious. Soon, the waiter returned to take their order,

"I'll have the broiled salmon with a twist of lemon and that comes with steamed vegetables, correct?", Inuyasha ordered.

"Yes, sir, it does.", the waiter replied nervously.

"And the lady will have the oysters stuffed with crab with melted butter on the side...", Inuyasha continued.

Again, Diana/Kagome was miffed,

"You're ordering for me again ...", she hissed.

Inuyasha looked at her with wide, innocent eyes, "You said you wanted to order your _drinks_!"

"Ughh! Whatever!", she said, angrily, as her eyes flashed. In that instant, she thought she saw it again. Silver hair. Golden eyes. CLAWS? She shook her head to rid herself of the sight. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the black hair and violet eyes. A normal human.

"Koshii? Is everything all right?", Inuyasha asked with concern in his voice. The waiter was gone. Their order placed,

"Uhh, yea. And what did you just call me?", she asked.

"Koshii. It's Japanese for sweetheart. It's my pet name for you.", Inuyasha replied.

"Oh, ok.", she decided it was ok. But, she was beginning to think this guy was an arrogant jerk, "Look, just because you're rich ... please don't order for me."

Inuyasha shrugged, "You always let me order for you. Because you always have a tough time deciding. But, if that's what you want, it's ok with me."

Kagome/Diana thought, '_Maybe he isn't so bad after all. Still ... what am I seeing every now and then_?'

Their dinner arrived and they enjoyed the food. After dessert, Kagome/Diana asked to go home. The limousine drove them back to the newspaper building. The driver helped Kagome/Diana out of the car and Inuyasha followed her to her car,

"Here, Kagome. Some pictures your mother gave me. Look them over. And my phone number at my hotel is in there. Please call me. There's more you need to know.", Inuyasha said. He wanted to kiss her. To reach out and hold her. But, he resisted. He didn't want to push.

"Thank you, Inuyasha. Are you sure I'm the one you're looking for?", she asked, slowly.

"Oh, yes. You're Kagome Kateitenma. Most definately. And like I said, there's lots more you need to know.", with that he backed up so she could get into her car.

Climbing in, she buckled up, started the car and drove off to home. Looking back in her rearview mirror, she saw it again. Silver hair instead of black. '_No, I must be seeing things_.', she thought, shaking her head again. This time, he was gone. But, he had left a mark on her heart, '_I must see him again_.', she thought.

Inside the newspaper building, a man stared out at the couple and their exchange. Jealousy gripped his heart. He would make sure that Diana wouldn't want to see him again ... Kateitenma had to be sent packing.


	5. Chapter 5

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 5

Inuyasha arrived back at his hotel. Heading up to his room, he turned on the tv while he changed,

"Officials release murder figures for this year. As of this month, we have had over 400 murders, most of them unsolved ...", the anchorman said.

Inuyasha finished dressing in black sweatpants and a gray muscle shirt as he listened to the news,

"Most of those murders are probably demon related, dude. You'll never catch'em.", he said out loud to no one.

He hated the United States. The demons here hated human life and murders were rampant. He couldn't wait to get Kagome back to Canada where she would be safe. Deciding he was still hungry (human restaurants never filled him up), he headed out to get something more to eat. He stopped at a demon - owned Thai restaurant that was open late and was seated. Ordering his favorite Thai dish, prawns in mild green curry and coconut milk with rice and a sweetened iced tea, he ate to his heart's content. This was how food should be. All - you - can - eat no matter what. Finally feeling full, he paid the bill and went on a walk. He noticed he had a chip on his shoulder. And then he realized why. That reporter, Ingram, had gotten under his skin. Needing to let off some steam, he openly displayed his gold chain and bracelet and headed for the bad part of town.

It didn't take long before a few bad suspects began to follow him around.

'_Acting like a lost tourist always brings out the bad in people_.', he thought.

Soon, a couple of guys began harassing him. He let them attack first, trying to get his gold and his Rolex before he hauled off and started swinging. Using a few ninja moves, he soon mowed them down before the others ran off,

'_Oh, well, that ended all too soon_.', he thought, as he jumped up to a building top and began checking out the view from the air.

A while into his walk, on the poorer but a nice part of town, he picked up a familiar scent,

"Kagome!", he said out loud, "She must live around here."

He followed the scent to the apartment building a few blocks over. There, on the fourth floor, he saw her figure in the window, lying prone on the bed, talking on the phone. He watched from a short distance. She eventually put the phone down and put her shoes on. Grabbing her purse, she headed out the door,

'_Where is she going at this hour_?', he thought.

He watched her climb into her silver Ford and followed her. She finally stopped at a house on the outskirts of town. She got out of her car and went up to the door and rang the bell. The door opened, but Inuyasha couldn't see who answered it. Heading back down to the street, he peered in a side window. What he saw made him cringe. It was HIM. Ingram.

Inside the house, Ingram hugged Diana, who stiffened at his embrace,

"Diana. I've had my sources checking into this Kateitenma fella.", he said.

"We've only met him tonight, Jim.", said Diana.

"You can never be too careful. So far, my sources have come up blank on this guy. It's like he doesn't exist."

"Give them time. It's only been, what, 8 hours? Look, it's 3 am - I need to get up for work tomorrow and ..."

"Diana, I want you to bait this guy. Find out all you can. We can make alot of money if we set him up ...", Ingram said.

"Bribery? Jim, really, you know I can't do that ...", Diana said.

"You can and you will. I know you can do this, Diana!", he said with a sneer.

"Whatever! I just want to go home. Bye, Jim.", Diana said, as she headed out the door.

By this time, Inuyasha had heard all he needed to hear and had turned to leave, heartbroken. He needed to figure a way to get Kagome out of Ingram's clutches. He had to tell her about himself before Ingram discovered his secret.

Diana/Kagome turned around to go home. In her exhausted state, she made a wrong turn and headed into the wrong part of town. The demon part. Although they looked human, the eyes watching her belonged to demons. Trying to find her way out of the neighborhood, she drove through a huge puddle and her car stalled. As she tried to start the car, the demons closed in. Finally, one yanked the door off its hinges and grabbed her. Diana/Kagome screamed in fear when she heard,

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!"

She looked up and saw Inuyasha come down from the rooftops, his black hair waving in the breeze. She stared in shock as he destroyed each of the "humans" that had gathered around to attack her. In the midst of the fight, one of her attackers managed to rip the necklace off of Inuyasha. Her eyes widened as he turned from human into a creature with silver hair, gold eyes, purple stripes on his cheeks, claws, fangs and ... and ...

"Dog ears!", she said to herself.

While Inuyasha was busy fighting off some of the demons, another demon grabbed Kagome/Diana, ripping her flesh. When he smelled the blood, Inuyasha grew even more enraged as he went over and attacked the demon trying to take her away. Grabbing Kagome/Diana, he leaped up to the building tops and ran away, taking her back to her apartment.

By the time they landed at her apartment, Kagome/Diana had begun to recover from the shock. After he landed safely, she pushed him away in fear,

"What ... what manner of beast are you? And what were those things back there?", she said crying.

He tried to calm her, "Kagome. I'm still Inuyasha. This is the real me. I'm a demon - a half-demon, remember. And those things back there were other demons ...and ..."

"Get away from me, you beast. I never want to see you again. There are no such things as demons.", she said as she turned away and started up the steps.

He yelled after her, "Kagome ...have you ever caused anything to happen that you didn't understand? Have you wondered why you heal so well?"

She stopped and turned to look at him. Their eyes met. For a minute, Inuyasha thought he saw recognition in her eyes. Then it was gone. She ran into the house and slammed the door behind her. He couldn't help it. With tears in his eyes, he yelled,

"KAGOMEEEEE!", at the top of his lungs.

The only answer he received was from a cranky neighbor,

"WILL YOU SHUT UP! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!"

To which he responded, angrily,

"OH STUFF IT OLD MAN!"


	6. Chapter 6

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 6

Diana laid down on her bed. She was confused and scared. What had happened tonight? She curled up in a ball and before she knew it, she was asleep.

_Dream Sequence_

_She climbed out of a well, calling for Souta and grandpa. Where were they? She had fallen down the well while looking for the cat. She looked up and saw the sacred tree,_

_"I'm almost home", she said._

_Coming upon the tree, she saw a boy pinned there by an arrow,_

_"Is that a ... boy?", she said._

_End Sequence_

The phone rang, waking Diana out of her sleep. She answered it,

"Hello?", she said sleepily.

"Diana? Where are you? You're late for work!", said the voice on the other end.

"Oh Julie, I'm so sorry. I ... I ... I'm not feeling well.", Diana lied, "Female problems ... you know what I mean?"

"Don't worry about it sweetie. I know exactly what you mean. You're never late or sick that's why I was worried. You take care of yourself, ok?", said her co-worker.

"Sure thing. Thanks Julie.", Diana said, as she hung up the phone. Then she picked it up again and dialed a number. A woman answered,

"Hello?"

"Flora? It's Diana."

"Hey kid! How did it go last night?", asked her friend.

"You're never gonna believe this ...", Diana started as she went through what happened the night before. When she stopped to take a breath, Flora said,

"He must have put something in your drink, kid. Demons? Really! You were probably knocked out and dreaming. Or a nightmare. Either way, you're a reasonable woman and you know there's no such thing as demons! Stay away from him, kid. He sounds dangerous to me."

"Yea, I guess you're right. I must have been dreaming.", Diana said, laughing.

The two talked some more before Diana said she needed to go. Flora warned her again to stay away from that "creep" before they said their goodbyes. Diana laid on her bed and looked at the ceiling. She remembered words from her "dream",

_"Kagome ...have you ever caused anything to happen that you didn't understand? Have you wondered why you heal so well?"_

Was it really a dream? She had caused things to happen that she didn't understand. Like the fire in her last apartment. The fire department ruled the fire "accidental." But she had been upset at a friend and she swore she started the fire just by looking at her carpet! No! That was impossible, right? But, it had happened before. Other times fires had started for no reason at all!

And healing well ... yes .. the doctors had always said she healed fantastically. No scars from any of her surgeries.

And then she thought further. What was that ... about a tree ... and a boy pinned to the tree ... what was all that in her mind?

Before she knew it, her mind had drifted away and she saw a temple and a young boy playing soccer. A woman and an old man. A tree and an old well. What were these thoughts? She's had them before, she knew. Were these her memories?

She awoke to darkness. The day was gone already? Curiousity filled her every being now. She had to call him. She had to know. She picked up her purse and pulled out the phone number he had given her. Picking up the phone, she called the number. The front desk answered,

"Hello, Sheraton Downtown?"

"Yes, Mr. Kateitenma's room please."

"Certainly. One moment please ..."

Then ..., "Hello?"

"Inuyasha?"

"Yea ... Kagome?"

"Yes. Can I come over, please? We need to talk."

"Of course."

"I'll be there shortly."

Kagome dressed in black dress and pumps and grabbed her purse. Heading out the door, she remembered,

"Was it a dream? If it was my car will be here. We left my car back ..."

Sure enough her car was in front of her apartment.

"Maybe it was a dream after all. Unless, did he bring my car back?", she said to herself.

The keys weren't in the ignition. She looked through her purse. Nothing. Then she saw the note. Opening it, she read,

"Key - Mat"

Going to the mat at the front door, she looked under it. Sure enough, her keys were there,

"It wasn't a dream?", she asked herself, as she bounced the keys in her hand.

She got in her car and drove away. Looking through the windshield, she noticed,

"Hmm. No moon tonight."

Arriving at the Sheraton, she parked and went in. Going up to the front desk, she asked for Inuyasha's room. She was given the floor and number and a key,

"He said you would be asking for him.", the clerk said.

"Oh, ok.", she mumbled.

She headed up to the room and put the key in the slot. As the light turned green, she opened the door. She walked into a fabulous suite. On the table was a bountiful amount of food. Inuyasha came out of one of the rooms and said,

"I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of ordering food for us."

"No. No. I don't mind.", she hadn't realized how hungry she was. She looked at Inuyasha, who stood before her with long black hair and violet eyes,

"You don't need the disguise anymore. I saw your real form."

Inuyasha sat on the couch casually and said,

"No disguise. This is me. Tonight. No moon out tonight. On the moonless night, my demonic blood wanes and my human blood and form comes through. You were the first person to ever see this in me. I hid it from everybody else. You were the first to discover my secret."

"Ohhh.", Kagome/Diana said.

"Like I said, Kagome, there's alot of stuff for you to learn about."


	7. Chapter 7

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 7

The phone rang,

"Ingram here."

"Yea, Jim, it's Yuri at the Tokyo office."

"Yea, Yuri. You come up with anything?"

"Well, you know it's taboo to investigate the Kateitenma family. My job is on the line here."

"Yea yea. And if we get enough info on him you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams. Now, whaddya got for me?"

"Not much. This guy covers his path pretty well. I found no birth certificates for him but I did find one for Kagome Higurashi in 1982. And she never graduated from school here. Her school record is spotty, at best. Alot of illnesses after she turned 15. Then she just seems to disappear after she turns 17.", said Yuri.

"People don't just disappear, Yuri. Anything else?", said Ingram.

"Yea. I found a Kateitenma family tree while snooping around the Higurashi shrine where your Diana is from, if she is in fact Kagome."

"Oh yea? And?", said an interested Ingram.

"Well, he must come from an important family. The name is over 400 years old ... when only aristocrats had last names. But, get this ... there's only one Inuyasha Kateitenma and one Kagome Kateitenma and they were wed in the 1500's. And the tree lists 122 children by Inuyasha and Kagome Kateitenma. The last child was born 10 years ago.", said Yuri, incredulously.

"What the hell? Are you saying this guy is centuries old? Impossible. That must be a piece of fiction ... but ...but send it to me anyway ...FedEx it to me ...I want to see this thing.", said Ingram.

"Uhhh Jim ...It's in Japanese."

"Fine, I have someone here who can read Japanese. Just send it.", Ingram said as he slammed down the phone.

He had spent his life being a skeptic but what the hell was up with this Jap? He had to find out more. He had to get Diana to help him expose Kateitenma.

Back at Inuyasha's hotel suite, Kagome/Diana sat down to eat with Inuyasha,

"Are you ready to hear about your life, Koshii?", asked Inuyasha.

"Oh ...I'm all ears.", Kagome/Diana said with a smart, sarcastic tone. She had to hear this guy's story.

Ignoring her tone, Inuyasha told her about her life in Japan, the well and how they came to be. He spun his story all evening and into the wee small hours of the morning. Kagome/Diana could only stare at him as he told his incredible tale,

"Wait! Wait!", she shook her head in disbelief, "122 kids ...is that even humanly possible?"

"Humanly? No. Demon or sorceress - yes.", he said.

"But ...but I'm a virgin. The doctors said so.", she said.

"You have your hymen?", he asked.

"That's private.", she retorted.

"You brought it up.", he replied, smugly.

"That's true.", she said, defeated, "Yea, I do. So you see ... it's impossible ..."

"Good. That means you haven't been with anyone since you disappeared 10 years ago. That's nice to know.", Inuyasha said, quietly.

"Huh?", she replied, confused.

"You heal as well as a demon or a half-demon. After not having sex for 10 years, even your hymen has returned.", said Inuyasha.

"I'm all confused. You're telling me this fantasy tale of demons, witches, magic and you're saying I'm a mother to 122 kids - the youngest of which was only 2 months old when I disappeared. I ... I don't know, Inuyasha. I'm finding this all very hard to believe."

Kagome was pacing around the room. Inuyasha went over and held her in his arms.

'_Damn_!', he thought, '_How I missed this_!'

"Kagome,", he said, "I know it's alot to take in and I didn't intend you to get it all at once. But, I need you to try and remember. For us. For the pups."

As he spoke those words, he lifted her chin up with his fingers so their eyes met. As she trembled slightly, he gently leaned down and kissed her. When she didn't protest, he deepened the kiss. By the gods, it felt so right! Then she pushed him away and stared at him with her eyes wide. Grabbing her purse, she turned and ran away from him. Again. Again, he stood there alone. She was only gone a few seconds and he felt like she had been gone a lifetime. He sat down on the couch and held his head in his hands and cried. Did he push her too far? Would she return to him?


	8. Chapter 8

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

_A/N: For those that don't know what a hymen is (from the previous chapter), it is a small membrane that covers a girl's vagina. In the old days that was how they told if a girl was a virgin or not even though it can break without intercourse._

Chapter 8

Kagome sat in her car, trembling. Why did she run? She wasn't afraid of him. In fact, the kiss ...THAT kiss, seared into her memory like nothing had before. She touched her lips. It had felt so right, so perfect, so ...

Her cell phone rang, breaking into her thoughts,

"Hello?", she answered.

"Diana, it's Jim. Where are you?"

"Uhh, in my car.", she neglected to say that she was in front of Inuyasha's hotel.

"Well, get down here. We need to talk."

"Ok. I'll be right there."

She pulled away just as Inuyasha got to the front door of the hotel. He had sensed that she was hesitant to leave and thought maybe he could convince her to stay but he was too late. He considered running after her, but opted against it. Better not push any more than he already had that morning. Sadly, he returned to his room and ordered breakfast, which he had hoped would have been for two, but, it was not to be.

Arriving at Ingram's house, Diana got out of the car and knocked on the door. Ingram answered and let her in,

"Diana, I found some interesting things out about your guy. I having the stuff FedEx'ed to me but it seems your guy is, shall we say, a few centuries old?", he said with a chuckle.

"Yea, well he is a demon ...or a half-demon ... I guess they live a long time.", she said quietly, not even really realizing what she had said.

"WHAT? What are you saying Diana?", he asked incredulously.

Diana/Kagome, in a tired state, spun parts of the tale that Inuyasha had told her as Ingram stood there flabbergasted. Could this tale be true? Could there be an underbelly world of demons, magic and the such?

'_And how much would they pay to keep their world a secret_?', thought Ingram.

After she was done, Diana curled up on the couch and fell asleep. Ingram looked at her. So beautiful. Was Kateitenma really telling the truth about her? Was she some mystical sorceress?

'_Naaah_.", he thought, '_But this idiot thinks so. Maybe he is eccentric enough to believe in this wild world he has created and maybe he could expose him as a fraud ... or get paid off not to_.'

When Diana awoke, she found lunch waiting for her,

"So you're awake, I see.", said Jim, "You're a pretty sight when you're sleeping."

"Ohhh. Sorry I fell asleep on your couch. I didn't realize how tired I was.", she said, ignoring his compliment.

"No problemo. Mi casa su casa, I say", he said, laughing, then getting serious, he said, "Diana, I want you to go with this guy. I want you to get all the information you can. I want to expose this guy as a freak or I want to expose his world."

"I was thinking of going with him and he's not a freak. I saw his true form. He has fangs and claws and ... and ...I'm a mother!"

"You believe this guy?", he asked increduously.

"I don't know Jim. I don't know.", she said. Wolfing down a sandwich, she mumbled, "Thanks." and headed out the door.

Jumping in her car, she headed back to the hotel. She had to talk to him again. Her curiousity about his world was beyond comprehension. As she pulled into the parking lot, she picked up her cell phone and called her friend, Flora,

"Hello?"

"Flora, it's Diana. Can you please meet me at the Sheraton downtown. I need a favor."

"Sure,", Flora said, confused, "When?"

"Now. Please. I'm here now. In the parking lot."

"Ok. I'll be there in a jif.", Flora said as she hung up.

A while later, a blue Hyundai pulled in with an older woman in the car. Diana jumped out and ran over to her as she parked. Jumping in Flora's car, she breathlessly told her best friend what Inuyasha had told her the night before. Flora just shook her head,

"Honey, he's pulling your leg. People don't live for centuries and they definately don't have a 100 kids or more - and you can't regrow your hymen. It's not possible."

"Not for humans. But for demons ...", Diana started.

"There ain't no such thing as demons, darlin'."

"But, Flora, that kiss last night. Felt so perfect. Like it was meant to be ..."

"You may be falling for him but, ...", Flora started.

"Look, Flora. Just come upstairs with me. If you see a normal human being then I will let this all go. But, if you see what I see ...", Diana stated.

"Fine. Is he there? I'll prove to you he's just a normal human like you and me.", said Flora.

"Hold on, let me call. Thanks!", Diana said, as she picked up her phone, and then, "The executive suite please?" and finally, "Inuyasha?"

"Kagome?", came his relieved voice on the other end,

"Yea. Can I come up?", Kagome asked.

"Of course. You're always welcome.", he said.

"Can I bring a friend?", asked Kagome.

"A friend? Who? Not that Ingram dude.", said Inuyasha.

"No. My best friend Flora. I want her to meet you.", said Kagome.

"Sure. I guess. Bring her on up.", said Inuyasha.

"Ok great. See you in a minute.", and with that she hung up, "Let's go.", she said, as she and Flora stepped out of the car.

Heading into the hotel, they took the elevator to the 11th floor. Knocking on the door, she heard,

"C'mon in, it's open."

Entering she was greeted by Inuyasha in his human form. Flora laughed and said,

"He looks human enough to me."

"Inuyasha, are you still human now or are you using a disguise?", Kagome asked.

Inuyasha played with the necklace on his neck as he stared at Flora. Kagome said,

"It's alright. She's cool. Take off the disguise, please."

Doing as he was requested, Inuyasha removed the gold chain from his neck. As they women watched, he changed from having black hair and violet eyes to having silver hair, dog ears, gold eyes, fangs and claws. Flora could only stare at the sight.


	9. Chapter 9

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 9

Flora stared at the sight in front of her before fainting dead away. As she came to, she awoke to Diana's face,

"Flora? Are you alright?", Diana asked.

"Uhhh yea,", the older woman started to say, "I just thought I saw ..."

"Me?", asked Inuyasha.

Flora looked at Inuyasha. He was back to his human form,

"Yes, you ... you were ...you had ...silver hair and ... and ... dog ears.", said Flora, sitting up.

"It's true, Flora, he does have silver hair and dog ears.", said Diana.

"Huh?", the Hispanic woman stared at Diana.

"Don't faint again, Flora. Inuyasha, if you please.", said Diana.

Inuyasha removed his necklace again, revealing his true form. Flora stared again but didn't faint,

"Are they real?", she asked.

"Is what real?", asked Inuyasha.

"Your ... your ears?", said Flora.

"Last time I checked, yea.", said Inuyasha, sarcastically.

"Can I touch them?"

Inuyasha sighed and said, "For you, old woman, sure. You kinda remind me of another old woman I used to know.", he thought of Kaede as he said this.

Flora stood up and gently rubbed the soft, fluffy ears. They twitched under her touch. Then she examined his claws,

"I've never seen anything like this before. Are there really demons in this world?", she asked.

"Yup. Loads of'em. Lots of the ones in the United States are dangerous. Other demons in the world attempt to live within society.", said Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha,", asked Diana, "Please tell me some more about your world."

"It's your world too, Kagome.", said Inuyasha.

"I don't know, Inuyasha, I'm still confused.", said Diana, "But, I am concerned about your littlest one ...Tia was her name?"

"Yes. Tia was only 2 months old when you disappeared. She's 10 now. I hope she'll take to you. She believes you are still alive, though, so I believe she will.", said Inuyasha.

"You have so many, will I ever remember all their names?", Diana sighed.

Inuyasha went over and held her, "WE have so many. I know how to convince you once and for all that you are Kagome."

"How are you going to finally convince me, Inuyasha?", asked Diana.

"Easy. You have a birthmark on your inner right thigh about 2 inches above your knee.", he said to Diana softly.

Diana just looked at him and blinked. Finally, she repeated her request that he tell her more about their lives. As she sat down with Flora, Inuyasha told her various tales. She still had trouble believing all she heard but now she sat fascinated and riveted to him. So did her friend.

The day passed quickly as they listened to Inuyasha. He ordered dinner for the three of them and they ate heartily. Finally, Flora said she had to go. Diana walked her down to her car. As Flora got in, Diana asked,

"Well, Flora? What do you think?"

"Well, I guess I'll believe in magic and demons from now on. He's cute, Diana."

"He's right, Flora.", said Diana.

"About what?"

"The birthmark on my right thigh. No one else knows about that but my doctors."

"Are you going to go with him, Diana? Back to Canada?", asked Flora.

"I think I may. And, Flora?"

"Yes?"

"Call me Kagome."


	10. Chapter 10

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 10

After Flora left, Kagome checked her cell. She had felt it vibrate while she was in Inuyasha's room but had chosen not to answer it. Checking the number, she saw it was Jim. Calling him back, he answered,

"Hello?"

"Jim, It's me. What do you want?", said Kagome.

"Oh, Diana. Have you gotten any more on your friend?"

"Anymore?", then she remembered she had given Jim information earlier that day, "Oh, No Jim. I'm not going to spy for you. And please, call me Kagome from now on."

"So, he's got you believing his stories, does he?"

"They're not stories. Jim, I have had flashbacks to some of the things he's telling me. Dreams and things. They have to be true."

"Well, I still say we can expose this other world of his. We'll be famous, Dia ...Kagome. Just think of it."

"No Jim. Look, I've gotta go.", Kagome said, as she hung up the phone.

She headed back up to Inuyasha's hotel room. He had left the door open so she walked right in,

"Inuyasha?", she called.

"I'm in the bedroom. I took a quick shower, I'll be right out.", he called back.

Curiousity drove her next move. Quiet as a mouse, she walked towards the bedroom. Inuyasha was standing there with nothing on but a towel draped around his hips. She studied his body. Lean, muscular but not overly so. She "oooooo'd" softly to herself,

'_He IS handsome_.', she thought to herself.

Then she blushed deeply as he removed the towel to get dressed,

'_Nice buns_!', she thought, blushing a deeper shade of red when she realized she was staring at a naked man she barely knew,

'_Well, he IS my husband, right_?', her conscience fought with her.

She decided to return to the living room before he caught her there. What she didn't know was that Inuyasha knew by her scent that she was watching him. And that she was aroused by the sight of him. This pleased him to no end. He decided to put on a pair of low waisted sweat pants and a white muscle shirt, like he wore around the house in Canada. The outfit showed off his body beautifully. Kagome always commented about how he looked in something like that. He walked out to the living room. Kagome's eyes widened at the sight and then she blushed and turned away. But, her scent gave her away. She was deeply aroused. He sat down beside her and their eyes met. Again, for a brief moment, Inuyasha thought he saw a glimpse of recognition,

"You always were beautiful when you blushed.", he said softly.

"Only when I blush?", she asked, shyly.

"No. You were always beautiful to me.", he said, cupping her chin in his fingers. Then he whispered, "May I kiss you, Kagome?"

"Yes, you can.", she replied.

Inuyasha pressed his lips to hers and then quickly deepened it as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around him, gently scratching his back with her nails. Together, they enjoyed each other's embrace. Kagome could feel her mind drifting back to a faraway town. In this town, she felt his kiss on her lips. Was this their first kiss she was seeing? She broke their embrace and looked into his eyes,

"Inuyasha,", she said breathlessly, "What does Kusamura mean to you?"

"Kusamura? Kagome - we lived there for six years. That's the home of the Mystics and where you became Lady Leilani, Fire Sorceress. And where we shared our first real kiss. Do you remember it?", he asked, hopefully.

"It came to my mind. I saw the town and heard the name. And saw us kissing ..."

"Kagome, your memory might be returning ...", said Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, make love to me.", she said, cooing softly as she rubbed his chest.

"Are you sure, Koshii? I don't want you running away from me again. I need you. I want you beside me.", Inuyasha said hesitantly.

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to feel all of you, Inuyasha. I know where I belong now.", said Kagome.

Picking her up in his strong arms, he cuddled her near his chest. She was calmed by the gentle rumbling in his chest. It was difficult at first, but Inuyasha was experienced enough to make it a bit easier for the virgin Kagome. Making love brought forth mounds of feelings from Kagome, who never realized she could feel this way before. It brought forth memories for Inuyasha of times long past. For both of them it felt perfect - like it was meant to be.

The morning sun shone on a sleeping Kagome and a wide awake Inuyasha. He brushed her hair from her face and stared at her in the morning light. She was smiling. Apparantly her dreams were happy. Were they of him?

She awoke to an empty bed. Shortly after she awoke, Inuyasha appeared,

"I ordered breakfast. Would you like some?"

"Sure.", she said, as she started to get up,

"No. Stay put. I'll bring it to you.", he said.

He disappeared again and returned with a tray. On the tray was some danish, biscuits, jelly, scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, orange juice and coffee. As she watched, he added 2 sugars and 1 cream to her coffee - just how she liked it. She smiled at him. As she ate, he sat beside her, enjoying her scent. She was happy and her scent was gentle, like a soft, summer rain. After eating, she took a shower and dressed. Deciding to spend the day together, they stopped by her apartment for her to change outfits. She decided to show him her world and she took him along the waterfront and to other places in San Diego that she liked to visit. The day was going fine except for a few incidents that drove Kagome crazy.

Once was when some kids pushed in front of Inuyasha and he yelled at them,

"HEY YOU PUNKS! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOIN'!"

"Inuyasha!", she scolded, '_Did he treat HIS kids like that_?', she wondered.

The last straw for Kagome came when Inuyasha told her they were leaving tomorrow for Canada,

"WHAT? I can't just up and leave. I have a life here. I don't feel right just up and moving!", she chastized him.

"Your life is with me, Kagome. It's time we left and returned home. You said you know where you belong now!", he argued back.

"I need to say goodbye to my friends. My job ...", she started to raise her voice.

"YOU DON'T NEED'EM! YOU HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY BACK HOME!", he yelled.

"WELL! INUYASHA! YOU ARE THE MOST ARROGANT, COCKY, CHILDISH PERSON I HAVE EVER MET! MAYBE I DON'T NEED YOU! I'VE DONE FINE ON MY OWN FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS!", she yelled back, "I'M LEAVING!"

"FINE WITH ME!", he huffed, as she walked away. But secretly he smiled, "You'll be back, Kagome. You always do come back!"


	11. Chapter 11

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: Kagome has lived the past 10 years as Diana King after defeating Adimara and saving Inuyasha, Kouga,Sesshoumaru and her pups in our last installment. Suffering from amnesia, will she be able to accept Inuyasha and her world of demons and magic?_

Chapter 11

Kagome walked straight to her car.

'_The nerve of him_!', she thought.

But, then she thought,

'_It's been 10 years without me. Of course he would want to get me back to our family and way of life_.', she turned and looked in the direction she came but saw no sign of him following, '_Maybe he's gonna let me cool off. Well, I'm not going back until I figure out how to explain this to my friends here_.'

How was she going to explain to her friends that she belonged to a demon world full of magic? Flora may have believed what she saw but would anyone else?

She got into her car and drove off. Inuyasha watched her go from the rooftops,

'_Best to let her cool off before approaching her again. But, Kagome, you're coming home with me. Soon_.', he thought.

As she drove, her cell rang,

"Yea?", she answered.

"Diana ...I mean Kagome ...it's me.", said a male voice on the other end.

"Whatddya want Jim?", asked Kagome.

"Stop by my house please.", he asked, pleadingly.

"Ok.", she said, with an exasperated tone of voice.

Arriving at Ingram's house, he greeted her at the front door. Letting her in, he surprised her with a fancy dinner and flowers,

"Jim ...this is so unexpected ...why?", she asked.

"Diana ... I need to tell you ...I love you ...I have loved you from the moment I saw you. Please, sit and have dinner with me.", he pleaded.

She agreed to have dinner with him but warned, "Jim, I'm falling in love with Inuyasha. I know I belong with him. I ...", she started.

"Diana ..."

"Jim, Please, Kagome."

"No. I refuse to call you by that name. That's HIS name for you. To me you are Diana and always will be."

"Fine.", she shook her head at his refusal.

"I wanted to tell you that I loved you before you left with him. And I want to make you a proposition for helping me out with exposing him."

"I won't help you, Jim ..."

"Yes you will. You know why you will?", he asked, with a sneer.

"Why?"

"Because if you don't ... I will expose _you_ as a fraud. That you knew all the time what your memory was and you were playing on the public's sympathies", he laughed.

"That's not true and you know it.", she looked at him appalled.

"Ahhh ...but who will the public believe ...especially when I reveal that you were arrested for embezzling from your boss shortly after you went back to work and that we had it swept under the rug, thanks to me. See ...you OWE me big time Diana. And now it's time to pay the piper!"

Kagome looked at him, shocked. He had promised never to reveal that! Now he was threatening her!

"That's a bribe, Jim. You wouldn't do that, would you?", she asked.

"Try me, Diana. Now, tell me everything he has told you."

Kagome, defeated, gave in and spent the next couple hours telling Inuyasha's story. She also agreed to gather any information she could when she went back to Canada with Inuyasha.

The next day, Kagome went to work. She wanted to call Inuyasha. She now wanted to leave this place. Julie, her co-worker, kept begging for information on her new man. Did this guy really know her? She admitted that she felt he knew her and that she belonged to the richest family in Japan and Canada, according to him.

"So what the hell are you doing here?", asked Julie.

Just then, in walked a bouquet of flowers. A huge bouquet of mini roses and tiger lilies hiding the face and body of the delivery person,

"Delivery for Miss Kagome Kateitenma.", the bouquet seemed to talk.

"Huh? Oh, that's me.", Kagome said blushing as she took the bouquet. Clients and co-workers "Ooooooo'd."

As she took the vase, she realized the "delivery person" was, in fact, Inuyasha in his human form!

"INUYASHA!", she almost dropped the vase.

Inuyasha helped catch it and place it on the desk. Kagome looked between him and her co-workers,

"What are you doing here? How did you know where I worked?"

"Because you told me, silly. Yesterday. Kagome, I was an idiot. I'm sorry for starting the argument yesterday. Will you accept my apology?"

With that, Inuyasha pulled out a small, velvet box and handed it to Kagome. She opened it to reveal a huge crystal white diamond with a circle of sapphires around it,

"It's ... It's huge!", she gasped.

"10 carats. 1 carat for each year you were gone and that we have to make up for. Kagome, will you please come back to Canada with me and consider marrying me again?"

"You go, girl!", said a couple of her co-workers.

"He's a cutie!", said Julie.

Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed. Breaking the kiss, she said,

"No! I'm sorry for yesterday. Yes, I'll come to Canada to be with you!"

As she said this, the whole room applauded the couple.


	12. Chapter 12

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: I discovered a gem on DBZSneeze- from a convention last year that had a group of voice actors, including Richard Cox (Inuyasha) and Scott McNeil (Koga). A convention goer asked the group "What does your character smell like?" When they got to Richard, he cracked up, saing he couldn't say it but Scott rallied the crowd to get him to say what he thought Inuyasha smelled like. His answer? "On Tuesdays, parts of Inuyasha smell like Kagome!" I don't know why only on Tuesdays but now I know why my stories include alot of sex! Now - onto my story!_

Chapter 12

Kagome awoke from a sound sleep. Next to her lay Inuyasha, sleeping soundly. He had apologized for being such an insenstive mongrel and allowed her as much time as she needed to get her affairs in order before leaving for Canada. It had been two days since he presented her with her new engagement ring and her boss had allowed released her from her job with his blessing. The past two days had been spent in utter bliss in his hotel room. Although she still only had flashbacks, like she had been having for the past ten years, she was even more confident that she belonged with this man. She wasn't so confident about the magic and the demon, however.

Not understanding that Inuyasha's love for her was unconditional, she was afraid to tell him about the blackmail that Ingram had her under. She was afraid that should Inuyasha find out she was a felon that had skipped jail time, he would pack up and leave for Canada without her. So she continued to supply Ingram with any information she could get out of Inuyasha and promised him he would get more information when she went to Canada.

This morning, she showered and dressed. She had a lunch date with Flora, who was still concerned about her and this whole other world she was now involved in. Her movements awoke Inuyasha, who got up and dressed in a pair of slacks and a t-shirt. He decided to order brunch in while Kagome went out with her friend. He kissed her goodbye as she left and settled in to wait for his food.

Kagome climbed into her car and drove off. She felt bad leaving Inuyasha behind but, he encouraged her to have fun and enjoy her last few days in San Diego,

"It will be getting chilly up in BC pretty soon. Skiing season will be here. The pups will be ecstatic.", he told her, earlier.

"You guys ski?", she queried.

"Have a ski lift behind the house up to one of the best hills in British Columbia.", he informed her.

"This must be some house!", she exclaimed.

"You helped design it. I hope you can remember someday.", he told her, hugging her gently, but, as if he would die without her.

Her mind returned to present day as she pulled into the restaurant where she would meet Flora. Waking in, she saw Flora's car in the parking lot,

'_She's already here. Good. I won't have to wait_.', she thought.

Kagome walked in and found Flora seated by a window. Sitting down with her, she breezily said,

"Hi!"

Flora responded, "Hi Di ... um, I mean, Kagome. I'll never get used to that!", she laughed.

"I know. I'm still getting used to being called that.", said Kagome.

"So, are you ready to leave to start your new "old" life?", asked Flora.

"I think so. I promised Inuyasha I would only need a week or two to get everything in order here. I have appointments to talk with my surgeons. Inuyasha warned me not to say anything about me healing quickly or anything about the "other" world. He said no one would believe me if I did."

"I'm still not sure I believe it. I mean, demons to me are evil creatures. That's how we were raised. But, I'm Jamaican and I believe in voodoo and zombies so I guess it's not a far cry from that, is it?", Flora questioned.

The waitress appeared and they each ordered their lunch and drinks and resumed their chat,

"I think you should tell Inuyasha about Ingram. I don't think it's right what he's doing to you to get a story.", Flora said, matter-of-factly.

"I don't want Inuyasha to know that I embezzled that money, Flora."

"That was Jim's doing anyway. He encouraged you to do it and you were the one that paid the price."

"And that's why I lost my job at the newspaper. No, I don't want Inuyasha to know. I don't want to lose him.", said Kagome.

"How do you know you'll lose him?", asked Flora, "He seems understanding to me."

"He can also be arrogant and cocky when he wants to be. I don't want to risk it.", said Kagome.

"So you're willing to risk exposing Inuyasha and that world?"

"No. I figure when I'm in Canada I'll be away from Ingram and I can ignore him. I hope.", Kagome said.

Their lunch came and they ate in silence. As they ate, Kagome's mind wandered,

'_Can I keep Inuyasha's world a secret from this idiot_?', she wondered.

After lunch, they chatted some more over coffee before Kagome excused herself. She really wanted to get back to Inuyasha. Hopping in her car, she noticed she had left her cell on the passenger seat. Opening up, she noticed she had two missed messages. One was from Inuyasha. He had texted to her,

"Miss U. Hope U R having a good lunch. Luv Me"

She smiled at this cute message. The next message sent chills up her spine. It was from Ingram,

"I won't let you go alone. You belong to me. Get me all info you can on him but I will have you."


	13. Chapter 13

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: I'm surprised I didn't get any reviews about Richard Cox in my last chapter A/N! Anyway - I have a survey - who is your favorite Inuyasha voice actor? Mine, of course, is Richard Cox as Inuyasha (I think Inuyasha's voice is soooo sexy) but my second fave is a three way tie with Kirby Morrow (Miroku), David Kaye (Sesshomaru) and Scott McNeil (Koga). My least favorite? Moneca Stori as Kagome. At least in the early episodes poor Kagome sounded like a wuss. Now, at least, she sounds like she has a backbone (and I'm talking the little girl voice not the words). _

Chapter 13

Kagome hurried back to the hotel room. She wanted to get back to the safety she felt with Inuyasha. Running up to his room, she burst in the door. He was standing at the window when she came in. Turning around, he was surprised when she raced into his arms and threw her arms around him. She was crying and shaking,

"Kagome! Koshii! What's wrong? What's made you so upset?", he asked, as he wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.

She lied to him, "I ... I was scared by some ... some people who started following me. I was afraid they ... they were demons after me again."

He smiled into her hair, "Don't worry,", he cooed, "They were probably people just interested in your story. Did you see, your friend Ingram wrote about you in the paper?"

"What?", she said, surprised.

He showed her the afternoon edition of the San Diego Sun. On the front page was a headline with her picture,

"**Amnesiac Diana King discovered to be missing Heiress and Socialite Kagome Kateitenma**"

Kagome stared at the headline. It didn't make any sense to her. He was threatening never to let her go, yet ... here was this headline ...

"But, ... but ...", she stammered.

"But, what?", asked Inuyasha

"Oh, never mind, it's nothing.", she smiled.

He could smell her scent calming down. He had no reason to believe anything else was out of line.

"Inuyasha?", she asked, sweetly, as they sat on the couch, "I'm ready to leave for Canada asap."

"I thought you wanted to see your surgeons and stuff?", he asked.

"I don't care about that anymore. You said I have demon doctors up there who know all about me. I'm fine with that."

"Are you really sure, Koshii?"

"Yes. I want to get to know my family again. And I have children who haven't seen me since they were babies. I want to reconnect with them. How I will ever remember the names of 122 kids I'll never know ..."

"Pups, Koshii, we call them pups.", he said.

"Pups.", she repeated quietly, as he kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly.

"And don't worry,", he said, calmly, "They'll remind you of their names often enough that you'll get the hang of it and remember them soon enough."

Inuyasha ordered dinner in and the two of them enjoyed a candlelit meal while overlooking the city's lights as darkness fell. The rest of the night was spent in each other's arms, cooing, teasing, and finally, making love. As she fell asleep, Kagome wished she could remember her life before instead of flashbacks.

The next day, Kagome called her friends and said her final goodbyes as she finished packing and prepared to leave San Diego. Flora promised to sell her furniture in her apartment and donate the proceeds to charity. With a last look at her apartment, Kagome jumped in her car and headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, Inuyasha finsihed packing. As he did, he realized that Kagome had left her cell phone behind. Knowing he shouldn't do it, curiousity got the better of him and he looked through her phone. He came upon her text messages and saw the message he left her. Then he saw the next message,

"I won't let you go alone. You belong to me. Get me all info you can on him but I will have you."

"What the fuck?", he said. Searching the phone he discovered the message came from Ingram. Just then, Kagome walked in, happily. He confronted her,

"What the hell is this?", he demanded.

"Why are you looking through my phone?", she asked, her voice nervous.

"I'm glad I did. What's going on, Kagome?"

"Ingram wants information on the demon world. I accidentally told him what you told me while I was tired. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I told him I won't give him any more information on you. Really, I did. But now, he's following me and all and ...", she started crying.

Inuyasha grabbed her and held her tight, "I won't let this bastard have you. Any of you, Kagome. Not even your fears. I'll take care of him."

"Don't kill him, please, Inuyasha.", she cried, for she feared the truth would come out and Inuyasha would leave her and she'd be alone again.

"Oh, I won't kill him. But, it's amazing what you can live through!"


	14. Chapter 14

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 14

Inuyasha grabbed Kagome by the hand and exited the room. Kagome knew in her heart it was fruitless to stop Inuyasha. She just hoped that the blackmailing information wouldn't come out. She feared deep in her soul that Inuyasha would be furious at her for being such an idiot and would leave her. She hadn't realized how much she hated being alone these past ten years until Inuyasha had come into her life. Or back into her life as the case may be.

"Kagome?"

Her mind riveted back to the present, "Yes?", she asked.

"I didn't have time to call the limo. You've got the keys to your car, right?"

"Yea. But you're mad enough ...why don't we just fly there?", she huffed.

"I don't fly. I ain't Superman. I jump. And I don't want to draw attention to us. Will you please unlock the car door?"

"Why should I? Look, Jim isn't really a problem I can't handle. Just let me handle all this, Inuyasha. Please?!"

"NO! You're my wife and he thinks he owns you. I wanna know what else you haven't told me about the last ten years also, Kagome!"

"You know what's important, don't you? I was faithful, even though I didn't know who I was being faithful to. Please let it go, Inuyasha!"

"If you don't open this door right now, I'll tear the door right off the side and we'll drive it that way, DAMMIT!"

"You would too, wouldn't you? Fine!", she said, as she unlocked the car door and they climbed in, Inuyasha in the driver's seat. He peeled out of the parking place, leaving at least an inch of rubber on the ground. Kagome held on for dear life as he drove crazily through the city streets,

"Did you graduate from Road Rage Academy? You drive like an idiot!", she exclaimed, fear in her voice.

"Only when I'm pissed off, my dearest, only when I'm pissed off. Drive with Miroku sometime."

"Miroku? I thought you said he was dead?", she asked.

"We named a son after him. And a daughter after Sango. But none after Shippou. I refused to name one after the fox!"

Kagome groaned, "I'll never get used to all these names I have to remember. I hope they wear name tags!"

Inuyasha screeched the car to a halt in front of the newspaper building. Quick as a flash, he was out of the car and opening Kagome's door,

"Come, Koshii, NOW!", he ordered and she obeyed nervously.

They walked into the newspaper building and were greeted by the receptionist,

"Hello, may I help you?", she asked sweetly.

"Nope!", said Inuyasha, as he and Kagome walked straight into the newsroom,

"WAIT! YOU CAN'T JUST WALK IN THERE!", the receptionist yelled after them.

"I JUST DID!", Inuyasha yelled back at her as he headed straight for Ingram's desk,

"Diana! Hello, did you see the article ..."

**WHAM!**

Inuyasha's fist met Ingram's face as Ingram went flying across the newsroom,

"YOU BASTARD! THIS IS MY WIFE! YOU LEAVE YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF HER!", Inuyasha screamed, as a crowd gathered around.

Ingram was helped up by a couple of co-workers, his face bloodied, his nose (at least) broken,

"Why you ...", Ingram started after Inuyasha, who easily held him off with one hand. Grabbing Ingram's left arm, he twisted it behind Ingram's back as those around him heard a loud CRACK as his arm broke and Ingram screamed,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

"Inuyasha, please, don't hurt him anymore...", Kagome pleaded.

The sounds of police sirens filled the air and Inuyasha knew he had to flee or be arrested. Pulling Ingram closer to his body, Inuyasha whispered into his ear,

"I'll let you go for now. Follow Kagome to Canada and you'll fare far worse. Got it?"

Ingram nodded, fear in his eyes, as Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and he broke through a window and took to the sky, as the onlookers stared in amazement. As the cops entered, Ingram yelled,

"I want to file charges against Inuyasha Kateitenma for assault and battery. These people are my witnesses."

The one police officer asked,

"Where is he? Is he here? We didn't pass anybody leaving on the way in."

The onlookers simply pointed up in the air through the window as the cops looked on in amazement and disbelief.


	15. Chapter 15

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 15

"I thought you didn't want to draw attention to us?", Kagome yelled over the wind buffeting them.

"I also have no desire to be arrested.", said Inuyasha as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

"Where are we going now?", asked Kagome.

"To the airport. We need to get out of the country before Ingram hands my ass over to the cops."

Kagome, feeling brave, gently reached her hand down to his buns and rubbed, "It is a cute ass.", she murmured.

Inuyasha smiled but said, "Now is not the time, Koshii."

Kagome continued to be coy as she said, "I like a man who is strong and can defend his woman."

"Kagome, please."

"I assume it's a private plane?"

"Yes it is.", Inuyasha was having a hard time concentrating as parts of him were reacting to Kagome's sexy voice.

"I always wanted to join the Mile High Club.", she cooed.

"Baby, you've been a member since before it was an official club.", he said.

"Oooooo. Sounds like fun.", she cooed as they approached the executive airport. Heading to a back runway, Inuyasha greeted the small man at the plan,

"Jaken, is the plane ready?", asked Inuyasha.

"Uh Yes, sire. The pilot is just in the john right now ..."

"Well, we gotta go. I got the cops on my ass."

Jaken shook his head,

'_The younger whelp is always getting his butt into trouble. My master will have to set things right again_!', he thought.

The pilot exited the hanger and climbed into the plane,

"Hello Inuyasha."

"Totousai? You're flying us today?", asked Inuyasha in surprise.

"Yup! Your other pilot called in sick. Kagome. Nice to see you again.", and with that, the old man headed into the cockpit.

"He's kinda old to be flying, don't you think Inuyasha?", Kagome asked, as Jaken brought her some tea.

Inuyasha kinda cocked his head and said, "Well, Totousai has been flying since planes were invented so ... I guess he has more experience than anybody."

"Wait ...did you say Totousai?"

"Yea."

"Didn't you tell me we knew him in the Feudal Ages?"

"Yea."

"HOW OLD IS HE?", she squawked.

"Over 900 years I'd say.", mused Inuyasha.

Kagome laid her head in her hands and groaned as Inuyasha laughed. Then Inuyasha said to Jaken,

"Hey Jaken?"

"Yes, sire?"

"Wanna get laid?"

Kagome could only stare at Inuyasha as he said this. Jaken looked at him eagerly,

"Yes, sire?"

"Then crawl up a chicken and wait! HAHAHAHAHAHA!", Inuyasha cracked up at his joke as Jaken looked away unamused.

"INUYASHA!", Kagome scolded.

"What? It was a joke! Lighten up!"

Kagome laughed in spite of herself.

The plane soared over the California skyline. The phone in the plane rang,

"Kateitenma here.", Inuyasha said, as he picked it up.

"Fool. You got your ass in a sling again, did you?", said the voice on the other line.

"Nice to talk to you too, Sesshoumaru.", Inuyasha said sarcastically.

"You do realize your exploits made the news, don't you?"

"Had a feeling. Since I decked a reporter."

"Don't you know better. Never leave witnesses.", Sesshoumaru countered.

"I ain't you, Sesshoumaru."

"No, of course not. Your human blood prevents you from doing a decent job. Is Kagome with you?"

"Yes, she is.", Inuyasha said, ignoring the comment.

"Fine. It looks like we need some memory spells. I'll send my mate to take care of it."

"Leave Ingram to me. He's mine, Sesshoumaru. And if everyone has their memory erased, he can't blab."

"Whatever you want, little brother. Your son will be waiting for you at the airport with a car."

"Which one? I have lots."

"Yes, I know. I'm hoping that your mate can learn to keep her legs closed since you can't keep your pants zipped,", Inuyasha growled at this statement, "Anyway, it's Yasha."

Inuyasha beamed at this. His oldest boy was his pride and joy. The firstborn and the one that Tessaiga accepted as it's future master. Married to the beautiful half-demoness Yuki, Yasha had 3 children. Emily, his oldest, was nearly 11. His son, Erik, was 5 and the littlest one, Esmerelda, was barely 1. He was proud of all his pups, but since he had always believed that he would never have pups, when Kagome got pregnant with Yasha, Inuyasha had been extremely proud and happy that he could have pups.

"Inuyasha, we have important business to deal with when you get home.", Sesshoumaru's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Fine. I'll see you then.", said Inuyasha, as he hung up the phone.

Kagome curled up next to him and said, "A penny for your thoughts, Inuyasha.", she cooed.

Inuyasha held out his hand and said, "Quarter. Inflation, you know."

"Are your thoughts worth a quarter?"

"They are if they are about you.", he cooed to her.

"Does this thing have a bed?", she asked.

"In the back.", he said, picking her up and cuddling her to him as he carried her back to the back of the plane. Jaken watched them go and shook his head. He could smell Kagome's scent, as he thought,

'_Jeez. They're gonna have another one_!'

_A/N: The Mile High Club, for those that don't know, is a club where the members sole purpose is to have sex on planes - normally public planes with others around. Disgusting, yes, but true. Our little heroine, we know, always has her mind there when it comes to our sexy hanyou, right? (Don't we all? C'mon admit it - if you're a girl you know where your mind is at with the half-demon!)_


	16. Chapter 16

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 16

The plane glided to a smooth landing. Kagome fixed her hair and straightened her dress in the mirror as Inuyasha threw on a pair of jeans and a blue, short sleeved polo shirt. He ordered the imp, as they headed out of the plane,

"Jaken, bring our suitcases down to the car."

"Yes, sire.", Jaken replied.

"Grandpapa!", shouted a little girl.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha. He definately didn't look old enough to be a grandfather. Then again, he didn't look old enough to have a son who was old enough to have children,

"Emily! My sweetie heart! How are you?", Inuyasha picked up the little girl and swung her around, her silver pigtails swinging in the breeze.

As the two hugged, Kagome saw a young man, about 20 years old, walk up to them. He was the spitting image of Inuyasha,

"Dad. Good to have you home.", then he turned to Kagome, "Mama! How we all missed you. I know you don't remember me. I'm the oldest, Inuyashaichi. But everybody calls me Yasha.", he hugged Kagome and Kagome hugged him back and started to cry,

"I'll remember it all someday, Yasha, I promise.", she said, through her tears.

"I know, mama, I know. Mama, this is my wife, Yuki. She's a half-dog-demon as well."

Kagome looked at the tall, statuesque woman. She had long, black hair with white streaks, deep-set blue almond-shaped eyes, and full lips. To say she was stunning was an understatement,

"Mama Kateitenma. It's so good to have you back.", she spoke with a deep Japanese accent, "We all missed you so much."

"Thank you, Yuki. I can't wait to get to know you better."

"I'm anxious for our pups to get to know you. You are a legend among our people, if Papa Kateitenma hasn't told you already."

Kagome blushed, "No, he hadn't said that."

Inuyasha interrupted, "This is Emily. She was just a baby when you disappeared. Say hello to your grandma, Emily.", Inuyasha urged the shy child.

"Hi Grandma.", the little girl said from behind Inuyasha's hair.

"Who dat poppa?", said a small voice.

Yasha picked up a small boy and said,

"That, Erik, is your grandma. Mama, this is Erik. He's 5 years old. And this,", he said turning to Yuki, who opened up a sling on her waist, "Is Esmerelda. She's just 12 months old."

"Oooooo.", Kagome cooed as she hugged Erik and rubbed the baby's head, "I'm so anxious to get to know all of you."

They chatted some more before heading to the Suburban to head to the house. Yasha hung back and grabbed his father,

"Damn! Dad! You work fast. Teach me your tricks will ya?", he said to his father.

"Whaddya mean?", Inuyasha asked, innocently.

"Don't play innocent with me, Dad. She's expecting? Already?" 

"Shhh. Only about two days along. Don't say nuthin', ok?"

"Sure. The secret's safe with me. But ... there's still 121 other pups who can sniff it out. Besides Uncle. And you know him. He can't keep a secret for beans!"

"Yea I know. But, I'm hoping to give her time to adjust before he breaks the news."

"Don't hold your breath too long. He's at the house."

"Shit!"

"Yea!"

Inuyasha climbed into the driver's seat as Yasha, Yuki, the pups and Kagome climbed in and started chatting. Before long, it seemed as if Kagome was her old self again, chatting with her pups. Arriving at the house, Kagome could only stare at the huge structure. Built as a log ski resort, it could rival some of the public resorts in Colorado and California. Scattered around the land, were multi-bedroom ski-style chalets, homes for the older and/or married pups. Kagome found out that not all of them lived there year-round but the homes were there for when they visited.

Walking in, they were soon surrounded by numerous pups, all anxious to see their mother again. Inuyasha attempted to break up the horde, but Kagome insisted that they be allowed to at least say hello. As they introduced themselves, Kagome hugged and kissed each and every one. Inuyasha came forward with another little girl of around the age of 10. He said to Kagome,

"This is Tia. She was 2 months old when you disappeared."

Kagome marveled at the child. Like all the other pups, she was a spitting image of Inuyasha. She had long, pure silver hair, golden eyes and a sweet, innocent face. She hung onto her daddy for dear life as Kagome made her way over to her,

"Hello, Tia. Can you come to mommy?", Kagome asked, sweetly.

Tia looked at her and looked back at her father,

"Mommy's dead.", she said.

"No, darling. Mommy's not dead. She just doesn't remember alot of things. I told you she wasn't dead.", said Inuyasha, gently.

"She's dead!", Tia reiterated, and climbed down from her father and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Kagome looked on sadly,

"She'll come around. She's just in shock.", said Inuyasha.

"As we all are.", said Izayoi, who stood beside her husband, Mashai, who agreed with her.

All the other pups murmured their agreement.

"Don't worry, mama. She just needs time.", Ian spoke up.

"This wouldn't have happened if your father had protected his mate the way he should have.", said a male voice.

"Oh, Uncle.", moaned the group.

Sesshoumaru came forward, "Kagome.", he nodded to her.

"And you must be Sesshoumaru.", said Kagome.

"That I am.", he replied.

"Well, if I understand correctly, if I hadn't been involved you wouldn't have succeeded against Naraku!"

"HUH?", a surprised Inuyasha remarked.

"Wait ... what did I just say? Who is Naraku?", asked Kagome.


	17. Chapter 17

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 17

Inuyasha stared at Kagome,

"I never told you who we fought against! That's wonderful that you remember!", Inuyasha said excitedly.

"What did I remember? Who is Naraku?", asked Kagome.

"It is a long story but one I'll tell you tonight.", said Inuyasha.

"Ok. But, if you don't mind, I need some rest.", said Kagome.

"Alright gang. Let your mother go up to get some rest. C'mon Kagome, I'll show you to the bedroom.", said Inuyasha, as he grabbed her suitcase and the two headed up the stairs. The group seemed to heave a collective sigh of relief,

"Well, at least she's back.", said Bunza.

"Yea, but did you catch her scent?", said Kentaro, laughing.

"Dad's quick, I'm give him that much.", said Kiyoshi.

"Your father needs to learn some restraint when it comes to his mate.", said Sesshoumaru, dryly.

"Oh, Uncle, really. That's what makes Dad ... well ... Dad. His human qualities.", said Yasha.

"Human? Hmph! He's a sex starved mongrel is what he is.", laughed Izayoi.

"Your father has always been a source of shame for me.", said Sesshoumaru.

The pups shook their heads. The rivalry between the brothers was centuries old and still showed no signs of slowing down.

After Kagome rejoined the family, they gathered in the family area to chat. The pups were anxious to hear how her life was like for the past ten years. While they chatted, their maid served sandwiches and tea for dinner. Kagome told them all about her jobs and friends and all about San Diego,

"Wow, mama, you learned to surf?", asked one pup.

"I guess you can teach old dogs new tricks.", said another pup. His mother scowled at this,

"Are you calling me old ...uhhh ... what's your name?", said Kagome.

"It's Meatwad!", said another pup.

"Or Meathead!", chimed in another.

"I like Meatwad!", clamored in another pup, adding imitations from _Aqua Teen Hunger Force._

"Actually, that's Shane that called you old!", added Inuyasha, who had 2 grandchildren on his lap.

Kagome held Esmerelda on her lap and looked over longingly at Tia, who was sitting off to the side quietly watching everything as she ate her sandwich. After a while, Tia got up and went outside. Kagome handed Esmerelda over to Yuki and quietly got up and followed Tia. The other pups seemed anxious to accept her as mother, but Tia was standoffish. Coming outside, she noticed Tia swinging on a swingset,

"Mind if I join you?", asked Kagome.

The little girl shrugged and said, "I don't care, I guess."

Kagome sat on the swing next to her and gently started swinging,

"So what do you like to do, Tia?"

"If you were my mama you would know.", said Tia.

"Well, yes I would, if I had been here. But, I've been gone for ten years. I need to learn what you like to do.", said Kagome.

"I like to play here on the swingset, I like to play ping pong and air hockey and I like to ski and swim and ride my horse, Buttercup.", said Tia, quietly.

"You've got a horse? Where?",said Kagome, anxiously, looking around the land.

"In the pasture.", then Tia showed more interest as she said, "Wanna see her?"

"Of course I do. I love horses.", said Kagome.

Tia jumped off her swing and she took Kagome to the pasture. In the pasture were many horses, but one stood out. A beige Arabian mare.

"That's her.", Tia pointed to the Arabian and whistled. The horse trotted over to the little girl who took out some sugar cubes from her pocket and gave them to the horse. The horse started a conversation between the two as Inuyasha came out of the house and looked on,

'_Good. That horse did prove to be useful_.', Inuyasha thought, as he saw his wife and youngest talking about the horse.

Back at the horse pasture, Kagome enjoyed chatting with Tia and commented,

"I can't wait to really get to know more of my youngest child."

"I ain't your youngest anymore.", commented Tia.

"What do you mean? Of course you are.", said a surprised Kagome.

"Nope. You got another one in your belly.", said Tia, before jumping off the fence and skipping away.

"Wha ...?", said Kagome and then she saw Inuyasha, smiling at her from the house. Angrily, she walked over to him and with a loud

**SMACK**!

slapped him across the face.

"Wha ... What was that for?", the shocked hanyou asked.

"I'M PREGNANT? YOU BEAST! I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO ADJUST TO MY LIFE AND NOW I'M PREGNANT?", she screamed at him.

"Uhh ... YOU CAME ON TO ME YOU KNOW!", he screamed back.

"YOU'RE THE DOG! YOU CAN TELL WHEN A BITCH IS IN HEAT AND JUST SAY NO! DON'T BLAME THIS ON ME, BUSTER!", Kagome screamed.

"ARE YOU CALLING YOURSELF A BITCH, WOMAN?", Inuyasha screamed back.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! HOW DARE YOU!", with this Kagome started crying.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know it's too late now but, ...", Inuyasha tried to apologize.

"I SHOULD MAKE SURE YOU NEVER FATHER ANYMORE PUPS AGAIN!", she screamed and then ran into the house, past a very interested Sesshoumaru, who had watched the whole thing,

"Excellent Inuyasha. You've managed to anger your mate quite decently."

"Pffft. She'll come around. Kagome always gets mad like that. It's nothing. Why are you here, anyway?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head in disbelief, "I told you we needed to talk."


	18. Chapter 18

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 18

"What do we need to talk about?", asked Inuyasha.

"You and your penchant for getting into trouble. I'm tired of saving your ass all the time, little brother."

"Hmph! Oh, that! Jeez, Sesshoumaru, I thought you wanted to talk about something **_important_**."

"This is important, Inuyasha. You're not a child anymore. You have pups and a mate ... you should be more responsible. And this Ingram fellow ..."

"is my responsibility. I want to play around with him for a while. You know ...a cat and mouse game ...", said Inuyasha.

"This is what I'm talking about Inuyasha. If you're going to take care of him then take care of him! For real. And for good. What if he reveals our world to the rest of society?", asked Sesshoumaru.

"No one will believe him. You said Rin would take care of the onlookers with the memory spells ...", said Inuyasha.

"Rin shouldn't be involved in this. But, how about the people who saw you running at full speed on the rooftops? We can't locate all of them ..."

"How are you locating the onlookers anyway?"

"Rin is pretending to be a police officer taking statements. We will also put an article in the local papers asking anybody who saw anything suspicious to come forward. Hopefully, we'll get most of the people who saw you playing superhero and reset their minds."

"That should work. Anyway, I will say thank you for saving my ass again. For Kagome's sake.", said Inuyasha, "Now I'm going inside to try to make up with my wife."

"I know what that means for Kagome. I guess then it's my time to leave. Goodbye, Inuyasha.", said Sesshoumaru, as he walked into the house to leave.

"Good riddance, as far as I'm concerned.", said Inuyasha under his breath.

"I heard that.", came Sesshoumaru's voice from the dining room.

'_Damn dog ears_!', Inuyasha thought to himself as he heard the front door shut.

Heading inside, he walked past his pups in the family room chatting about their mother and the newest pup. Walking upstairs to his bedroom, he heard a tearful Kagome talking to someone,

"I think I'm pregnant. Not very far along. Yea, I know, I haven't been with him very long. Yea, I know, I know. What am I supposed to do? Of course it's his - I haven't been with anybody else. Well, he is a dog, he can smell these things, I guess. Will you stop calling it that? It's not beastiality - he's half-human too."

Inuyasha walked in quietly and Kagome looked up,

"Look I gotta go. Yea, Inuyasha's here. I think he wants to talk. Talk soon. Bye now.", she hung up the phone, "Hello, Inuyasha."

"Kagome.", Inuyasha came to sit down on the bed, "I'm sorry. I should have had more restraint ...I ... I ...I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's just a shock. The past week has been a shock and now this. I wish you had told me. It seems weird coming from Tia."

"I know.", he said as he held her, "By the way, who were you talking to? Flora?"

"Yes.", she lied. She had really been talking to Ingram and had given him more information. Including the information about the memory spells that Inuyasha had told her about on the plane,

"She's ... uhh, she's concerned for me, that's all.", she lied again.

"A good friend would be, I guess.", Inuyasha said, but inwardly, he wondered why her scent had changed to one of fear.

"I guess all the pups figured it before I knew.", Kagome said, getting back to the subject of the baby, "How far along am I?"

"Only a few days. Barely anything. I wanted to wait. I should have told Tia not to say anything.", said Inuyasha.

"I guess I should have used protection. It's my fault too.", she said, tearfully.

"I never considered a pup to be a fault. Only a blessing. Especially, when you go through life being told half-breeds can't breed. Other half-demons can't breed. Why I could, I never could figure out. Then I thought I had to transform into a full-demon to breed. Until Jasmine came along and you got pregnant with her while I was a half-demon.", Inuyasha said, thoughtfully. Kagome thought she saw a tear in his eye,

"I'm sorry. You're right. Babies are blessings. I guess I just wanted to get to know my family again before having another one. I'll just have to speed up getting to know everyone in 9 months.", she said with a smile, but, in her mind, she was thinking, '_I can't do this. I can't live here. I'll never get used to all these people and this world. I have to leave_!'

Later that night, after everyone was asleep, Kagome packed her clothes and secretly snuck downstairs. Calling a cab on her cell phone, she waited outside the compound for her ride. She directed the cab to the Vancouver Airport, paid the fare and bought a ticket for the next flight to San Diego. At least, she thought she did it secretly. Unknown to her, one little pup had watched her depart.


	19. Chapter 19

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 19

The next morning, Inuyasha awoke to an empty bed. Figuring Kagome had gone down for breakfast, he dressed and headed downstairs,

"Hi dad.", said Shane, coming in from the kitchen with a peeled orange.

"Hey Shane. Your mama in there?"

"No. I thought she was still in bed. She hasn't come downstairs."

"She's not in bed either. Maybe she's outside.", he headed out to the back yard.

Inuyasha went outside and searched, to no avail. Searching all over the house, he asked every pup he came across if they had seen their mother. All said no. He checked each of the bedrooms until he came to Tia's room. Izayoi was braiding Tia's hair in a french braid and Tia was playing with her doll,

"Have either of you seen your mother? I can't find her anywhere in the house.", asked the flustered hanyou.

"No, dad. I haven't.", said Izayoi. Tia said nothing.

"Tia? Have you seen your mama?", asked Inuyasha, getting down on one knee so he was eye level with his daughter.

"She's not my mama. My mama wouldn't run away.", said Tia.

"Run ... away? What do you mean Tia?", asked Inuyasha gently.

"She lied to me. She said she wanted to get to know me and Buttercup but last night she packed her suitcase and left.", said Tia, angrily.

"Packed her ... Oh No!", said Inuyasha.

"Dad ... you don't think she ... really left ... do you?", asked Izayoi.

"YES SHE DID! SHE'S AFRAID OF US BECAUSE WE'RE DEMONS!", Tia yelled, "WE'RE DIFFERENT AND THAT'S WHY SHE LEFT! THAT'S WHY SHE LEFT TEN YEARS AGO!", as she said this, Tia climbed down off her bed and went running out of her room. Inuyasha stopped her,

"Tia! You know that's not true! Mama was in an accident 10 years ago.", Inuyasha tried to explain.

"SHE TOLD THE PERSON ON THE PHONE THAT SHE WAS SCARED AND THAT SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE SHE COULD BE A MOTHER TO 122 PUPS! WE'RE DEMONS AND WE'RE DIFFERENT!", yelled Tia, pulling away from her father and running downstairs and out the door.

Inuyasha watched her go, tears in her eyes, "I guess I didn't raise her as well as I thought.", he said, sadly.

Josh and Juliet came up to him, as Izayoi stood beside him, "You did good dad. She's just upset. She doesn't mean any of those things.", Josh said.

Inuyasha looked towards his room, '_Who was she talking to on the phone_?', he wondered.

Heading into his bedroom, he picked up the phone and pressed the numbers to recall the last dialed number. An answering machine answered,

"Jim here. You know the drill. BEEP!"

"DAMMIT ALL TO HELL! She was talking to Ingram! Not Flora."

"Dad?", came a voice from the doorway. It was Yasha, "What's wrong?"

"Your mother left. Apparantly we spooked her. Or I did. Hold on,", Inuyasha said, as he took out his credit card and dialed another number. Entering all his information he heard what he dreaded to hear,

"It appears your mother bought a plane ticket this morning. Probably back to San Diego."

"Dad?", came another voice from the hall. This time it was Kentaro, "Tia's gone."

"What do you mean gone?", asked Inuyasha.

"Just what I said. She saddled up Buttercup and took off like a bat out of hell."

"DAMMIT ALL! I don't NEED this! Kentaro, gather up whoever and search for Tia. If anything happens to her, so help me god, I'll kill that horse with my bare hands! Yasha, C'mon, we need to get to the airport and head off your mother. NOW!"

"Right!", both boys said in unison.

Kentaro hurried off to gather pups to search for Tia while Inuyasha and Yasha jumped into the Suburban and peeled out of the driveway. Yasha called the Vancouver Airport and got a list of all flights leaving for San Diego that morning,

"Only problem, Dad, is that 4 flights have already left this morning for San Diego. And that's if she went to Vancouver. There's always Victoria."

"Fine. Call Jaken and get the plane ready. Tell him to get a pilot that we need the plane now!"

Yasha did as he was told and by the time they reached the airport, Jaken had gotten Totousai to fly the plane,

"Rin will meet you in San Diego in case you need memory spells.", said Jaken.

"I hope Sesshoumaru will be able to save my ass again because I may end up in jail this time. For murder.", said Inuyasha, as he boarded the plane.

"You and me both, dad. You and me both.", said Yasha, as Jaken closed the plane's door.

The plane took to the sky as Inuyasha nervously paced the aisle. He had to get Kagome back. The plane flew straight on to San Diego. Landing at the San Diego airport, the two men raced into the concourse,

"Damn! She's been here and gone!", said Yasha, sniffing the air.

"Yea! And with that no good Ingram! Wait! There's Rin!"

"Aunt Rin!", yelled Yasha.

"Gentlemen. I have a car waiting for us. I saw Kagome leave here but I didn't dare stop her.", said an all grown up Rin.

"We have to get to the newspaper office. It's at ...", said Inuyasha.

"I know. I was there, remember? Let's go.", said Rin.

The three headed out to the car and the car drove them to the newspaper office,

"Now Inuyasha, please don't do anything ...", Rin started to say as the car halted, but, before she could finish, Inuyasha and Yasha were out of the car in a flash,

"... stupid.", she sighed, "Oh well, he'll never change.", she said, as she got out of the car.


	20. Chapter 20

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

_A/N: This chapter could be better but my brain just couldn't get it together. _

Chapter 20

Inuyasha and Yasha rushed past the receptionist. Thanks to the previous memory spell, she didn't recognize them,

"Wait, you can't go ..."

ZAP!

Rin followed behind and snapped her fingers as she said a short spell under her breath,

"One down ...many to go.", Rin said to herself as she gained permission to enter the newsroom from the receptionist.

Inuyasha was already at Ingram's desk, Ingram's neck in Inuyasha's closed fist, dangling off the floor,

"Where is she?"

"Who?", Ingram gasped.

"You know who, dammit! Kagome! She flew in this morning and you picked her up at the airport. And you spoke to her last night. What did you tell her?", Inuyasha demanded.

"To leave you and your freakish people. I'll expose you and your people and you'll be the laughing stock of the world!", Ingram said.

"Why you bastard! I'll kill you!", yelled Inuyasha.

Sirens again filled the air as co-workers had begun calling 911 about a freakish man holding one of the reporters hostage,

"Inuyasha.", hissed Rin, "We gotta go."

"Where is she?", Inuyasha asked again.

"I'll never tell you."

Inuyasha dropped Ingram and said to Yasha, "Let's go. I think I know where she is. If not, I'll follow her scent."

Yasha was behind Ingram, looking out the window as the police cars started pulling up. As he turned around, he yelled,

"DAD! Watch out!"

Inuyasha turned around as Rin screamed. Ingram had pulled a gun and had it aimed at the hanyou's head. Before he could pull the trigger, Yasha managed to come from behind and crush the gun (and Ingram's hand in the process.) with little effort. Rin immediately started sending off memory spells, snapping her fingers left and right. She still had a few people left, when the cops burst in. Luckily, she managed to get out her spells before the cops had a chance to question the witnesses. Inuyasha and Yasha hid as the cops began questioning,

"What's going on here?"

Rin had at first decided not to hit Ingram with a spell, as Inuyasha had requested, but he started blabbing about Inuyasha and showing off his wounded hand. Inuyasha and Yasha stayed quiet while Rin, from behind a pillar, snapped a few spells off to the police. As confusion set in, Ingram tried to explain to the cops that Inuyasha was a demon and had super human strength,

"Sure buddy. HmHm. Demon, you say. Right.", said one cop.

"How do you think my hand was crushed? He's a madman, I tell you.", said Ingram.

Rin managed to get Inuyasha and Yasha out of the building behind the cops. Before she left, she decided to fire off another memory spell to Ingram to end this once and for all.

Inuyasha then directed them to Ingram's house. Sure enough, there he found Kagome. He busted his way into the house and confronted her,

"You didn't have to break down the door! I would have let you in.", yelled Kagome.

"Why did you leave? What did I do?", asked an angry Inuyasha.

Kagome sat down and cried, "It's not you. I'm scared. I don't think I can handle being a mother to 122 kids."

"So be their friend. But, Tia believes you left because we're different. And she believes you lied to her."

"Huh?", asked a confused Kagome.

"She says she overheard you tell Ingram that you were scared because we were different. And she believed you when you said you wanted to get to know her and Buttercup."

"I guess I am, in a way."

"You are what?"

"Scared. Because you _are_ different."

"My Kagome was never scared of me. Even when she first met me!", said Inuyasha indignantly.

"I'm not the old Kagome! I'm this Kagome and I'm scared! OK?!", she yelled at him, "Or maybe I'm not Kagome. Maybe I'm Diana! Diana King!"

"You're Kagome Kateitenma and you are my wife and the mother of my pups and one of my pups needs her mama really bad right now! You said you were concerned about Tia! Now show some of that concern!", yelled Inuyasha back at her.

"I'm not going back and you can't make me!", Kagome cried and ran upstairs.

"Please Kagome, come back. I'll do anything you ask of me. I promise. Damn, I wish I could SIT you!"

Inuyasha headed out to the car. Yasha got out and asked,

"Is she coming?"

"I guess not. I guess I lost her for good, Yasha."

Looking at the ground, Yasha said, softly,

"Maybe not Dad. Turn around."

Inuyasha turned around and there was Kagome, on the steps, with her suitcase. She said softly,

"I used to sit_ you _with a nenju necklace, didn't I?"


	21. Chapter 21

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 21

"Kagome ... you remember that?", said Inuyasha.

"Something like it, I guess. I remember yelling 'SIT BOY' and you falling to the ground ..."

At this, Yasha cracked up laughing. He remembered as a child his mother telling his father to "SIT!"

"Yes Kagome, you did. God, how I hated it, but if it would help you remember I would do anything to have you sit me right now.", said Inuyasha.

"That can be arranged.", said Rin smugly.

Inuyasha walked up the steps to Kagome, "Let's go home, Koshii. Please. Let's put this all behind us and start over. The new pup can be a new beginning for all of us."

Kagome dropped her suitcase and ran into Inuyasha's arms, crying,

"I'm sorry I let Jim talk me into coming back."

"Well, he's taken care of.", said Rin.

"Huh?", said Kagome and Inuyasha together.

Rin snapped her fingers and said, "One little memory spell and voila! Trouble resolved!"

"Rin, I wanted to take care of him.", said Inuyasha.

"You took all the fun out of it, Aunt Rin.", said Yasha.

"Well, let's get outta here before the neighbors call the cops. I'm tired of doing memory spells today and I want to get back home to my mate.", said Rin.

"Why would anyone be anxious to get home to Sesshoumaru is beyond me.", said Inuyasha to Kagome and Yasha as they both laughed and Rin gave him a nasty look,

"That witch didn't make me a demoness for nothing. I love my lord husband.", said Rin.

The four of them climbed back into the car and headed to the airport. Jaken had the plane refueled and ready and they took off for British Columbia. While in the air, Inuyasha and Yasha filled Kagome in on the last they knew about Tia. Inuyasha called home and discovered they had gotten Tia home, but she was holed up in the barn refusing to come into the house,

"She refuses to leave the horse.", said Bunza.

"I'll handle it when I get home.", said Inuyasha, "Just let her be for now."

By the time they got home, it was past darkness and getting very cold. Inuyasha began to head out to the barn when Kagome stopped him,

"I'm the cause of this. Let me handle this.", she said.

"Ok. But hold on a minute.", he said, heading into the house. Returning to the backyard, he handed Kagome a coat,

"This is my fire-rat robe I use to wear eons ago. She loves it because it's warm. Wrap her in it."

"Fire-rat ... robe?", Kagome asked.

"Yea. I'll explain later. Go. Good luck.", Inuyasha said.

"Thanks.", said Kagome, heading over to the barn.

Going into the barn, she quickly located Tia in the stall with Buttercup,

"Hi there.", she said breezily.

Tia looked up, surprised, "You're back?"

"Yea. I couldn't stay away. This family is addictive for some reason."

"I thought you said we were _different._"

"Well, you are. And a little kooky too. But, being different has it's advantages. Here, daddy gave me this to give you. It's chilly out here.", Kagome said, opening the stall and putting the robe around Tia. Tia curled the robe around her and stopped shivering. She loved the robe and she loved her daddy's smell,

"Well, I hate being different. Humans don't have silver hair and gold eyes. And I hate having to stay away from humans. And I hate being forced to stay on the compound..."

"Why? You have everything a kid could want. Your own room, tv, phone, every video game out there, tons of other games, tons of animals on the farm ..."

"Yea, Yea ... our own amusement park, boats, planes ... that's the problem ... I want nothing. Daddy gives us everything. I hate having money. I hate going to a special school. I hate knowing that it will take forever for me to grow up. I mean, Ian's 30 years old and he still looks 13! That will be me soon. And having so many brothers and sisters, I get lost in the crowd."

"Oh I doubt that, Tia. Your daddy talks about you all the time. You're definately not lost on him!"

"Really? I didn't know he talked about me like that.", Tia said, softly.

"Tia?"

"Yes?"

"Will you accept me as your Mama? Will you help me learn everybody's names and help me get my life straight here?", asked Kagome.

"Me? You want my help?", asked Tia, surprised.

"Yes, I do. And when this pup is born, you can help me take care of him most!", said Kagome.

"Really? WOW!", Tia said, amazed.

Kagome reached out for a hug and Tia wrapped her arms around Kagome. The two hugged each other tight. Tia whispered,

"Thanks, Mama. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Tia."

Inuyasha watched quietly from the doorway as the two hugged. He smiled and slowly and quietly shut the barn door.

Meanwhile...

Down in San Diego ... Ingram returned to find his door broken down and Kagome gone. He turned and faced a mirror as he brushed his hand through his hair. A grotesque image stared back at him as he cursed under his breath,

"You fucking dog! I'll repay you for today! And that woman! She thinks her simple memory spells will affect me!"


	22. Chapter 22

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 22

Inuyasha and Kagome took a walk after Tia was safe in bed,

"Kagome. I want to know everything. Why did you leave? Tell me why you're still talking to this freak."

"I'm so sorry Inuyasha. I do ... I do owe you an explanation. See, I was afraid to tell you. Afraid you would leave me and I would be alone again."

"Afraid to tell me what?"

"Ingram threatened to send me to jail if I didn't help him."

"To jail? What the hell for? You can't go to jail if you haven't done anything."

"I did do something. Right after I first ended up in San Diego, when I had lost my memory and had become Diana King, I started working at the newspaper. See, Jim had befriended me in the hospital and he was trying to help me out. For some reason, he encouraged me to start taking money from our boss. I kept taking more and more until I got caught. But, he managed to get the whole thing swept under the rug. I don't know how ...he just told me he did. I embezzled thousands of dollars and didn't do any jail time. Now he's threatened to reverse everything and get me in jail and ...then this time he told me if I didn't return to San Diego not only would he do that but he would kill Flora as well. I'm still scared for Flora ... oh, Inuyasha, what do I do?"

Inuyasha hugged her tight and said, "First, stop worrying. I'll have Sesshoumaru get some protection for Flora. And we'll take care of these charges. And Ingram will be the one to see jail, not you."

"Maybe I should have let you kill him.", said Kagome.

"The only problem is the memory spell. I was trying to avoid it because I wanted to know why Ingram was after you the way he was. I don't know how we'll make him see jail time if he doesn't remember but,..."

Kagome's cell phone beeped. She opened it up to answer it and received a text message and a picture. The image and message made her scream,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"What? What is it?", asked Inuyasha.

Kagome showed him the phone. The message said,

"I warned you. Now look what you did to poor Flora. You will be next!"

The picture was a horrid shot of Flora, bound and seated on a couch, her face frozen forever in fear. Her stomach was slit open and her insides were hanging out. Blood was everywhere.

Inuyasha grabbed the phone and destroyed it with his hand. He gulped hard. He had been too late to save her friend. At least he knew there was no way for Ingram to get on the compound without being seen. Taking Kagome in his arms, they hurried back to the house. He passed a wailing Kagome to Izayoi, who looked at him in confusion. He ordered her to get all the older pups together. As she did so, he made a phone call,

"Sesshoumaru. It's me."

"No shit!"

"Sesshoumaru, this isn't time for games. You were right about Ingram. I should have taken care of him right. Get over here right now."

"I'm on my way."

"Bring Rin too."

"Why?"

"Because her memory spell didn't work on Ingram. We have to devise a plan to deal with him."

"Ok."

Once Inuyasha had everyone assembled he explained what had happened to Flora and how all their lives were in danger,

"We're dealing with no ordinary human. This man is psycho and he needs to be stopped."

The rest of the night was filled with debates and discussion of how to deal with Ingram. As night turned into morning, no firm plans had been established. Inuyasha was getting frustrated over the lack of plans for stopping Ingram. As he paced the hallway, the buzzer from the gate sounded. He answered it,

"Hello?"

"Mr. Kateitenma please."

"This is him. What do you want?"

"I have some information you may find helpful. And you may have some information for me."

Inuyasha viewed the monitor of the front driveway. The man there appeared to be an ordinary Japanese man, short of stature, wearing khakis and a brown shirt,

"Who the hell are you?"

"You don't know me. I am Daisuke Fushikenwa. I am a private investigator."

The man held his badge up to the camera,

"Please allow me entrance, sir."

"What information do you have that we might use?"

"It's about James Ingram."

Sesshoumaru had joined Inuyasha by this time and the two looked at each other,

"Let him in.", said Sesshoumaru.

"Ok. Come in.", Inuyasha said, as he pressed the button to open the front gate.

The man got in his car and entered the compound. Arriving at the front door, he started to ring the bell, when Inuyasha opened the door. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru stood there as the man extended his hand in greeting. Sesshoumaru spoke first,

"You're a demon."


	23. Chapter 23

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 23

"Your nose is correct. I am a demon. May I come in?", asked the man.

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru allowed him entrance and he thanked them,

"Follow us.", said Inuyasha, as he and Sesshoumaru led the man to the living room with the awaiting family, "Have a seat.", he offered, "Now what do you have to tell us?"

"Inuyasha. The least you can do is offer him some coffee or something.", chided Rin.

"No, I'm fine, really.", he said as he sat down and pulled out a cigarette, "Mind if I smoke?"

"Yes, actually, we do. We don't care to inhale that junk.", said Inuyasha.

"Yes, of course.", he said, as he put the cigarette away, "As I said, my name is Fushikenwa and I'm an investigator with the United States Demon Services."

"Demon Services? Never heard of it.", said Inuyasha.

"No. We are a top secret organization that investigates demon activities in the US and around the world. Sort of like the X-Files.", said Fushikenwa.

"Wow. I didn't know a place like that existed.", said Izayoi.

"Anyway, we've been investigating the entity that is living in Ingram's body for some time now.", said Fushikenwa.

"Entity? He's possessed?", questioned Inuyasha.

"Sort of. He's a Haitian loa or deity called Soussoun-Pannan. He's evil and has an insatiable thirst for human blood and alcohol."

"That would explain why Ingram always smelled of liquor.", said Kagome, quietly.

"Yes. And his true form is horribly hideous so he takes the body of demons usually to live amongst us. This time he took the soul and body of Mr. Ingram, poor man. He chose a human this time to throw us off-track. I was investigating suspicious deaths at San Diego Memorial when I discovered Mr. Ingram who was also working the case as a reporter. We had lost track of Soussoun-Pannan and the deaths at the hospital were our best leads. I didn't realize at first that Ingram was possessed. He was in a perfect position"

"So how did Kagome get involved?", asked Sesshoumaru.

"Soussoun-Pannan was looking for more powerful demons to possess. He recognized Kagome as the wife of Canada's most powerful man and thought he could manipulate her to get to you. He apparantly became quite gifted with memory spells over the years and used one on Kagome, thus causing her to lose her memory. He used it on others around her ... the doctors, nurses, even me ... but it didn't work on me. That's how I figured out he wasn't who he said he was. Only, for some reason, it didn't work correctly on Kagome either. Her memory kept pushing through. So he did what he always used to do, brainwashed her and used hypnotics to keep her near him until he could get the memory spell working correctly. Apparantly, her cooperation was the key. He may have finally succeeded if it hadn't been for Flora."

"What did Flora do?", asked a still tearful Kagome.

"Insisted that he put your picture in the paper looking for your family. She said if he didn't do it she would have another paper do it. I guess he didn't want to blow his cover so he caved in to pressure from the editor, thinking it wouldn't reach Canada. He didn't count on your one son being in Oregon."

"Soooo ... what were you doing when my wife was being manipulated like this, if you knew who she was?", asked Inuyasha.

"I had my orders, sir. I wasn't allowed to break them for anybody. Even the wife of Inuyasha Kateitenma.", said Fushikenwa.

"Bastard! This could all have been avoided if only ...", Inuyasha started.

"I wasn't allowed to intervene. We were after Soussoun-Pannan. Crime rates have been rising in the US because of him and his followers and their search for blood ... the fresher the better. We are aware of the sad fate that has befallen Flora Hernandez. We are deeply sorry for your loss, Mrs. Kateitenma."

"Thank you.", murmured Kagome as Izayoi hugged her.

"So about this memory spell on Mama. Since her memory is breaking through, does that mean that eventually the memory spell will be broken?", asked Yasha.

"It may take a few months, but, yea, it seems that way.", said Fushikenwa.

"So how can we help you?", said Sesshoumaru.

"We've lost track of Soussoun-Pannan again. We think he has fled San Diego and none of our operatives in the underground have been able to find him.", said Fushikenwa.

"Some demon hunters you are.", said Inuyasha, sarcastically.

"We feel he may have dumped Ingram's body and taken the soul of another hapless human and is laying low. He now wants revenge on you and Kagome and your whole family. This entity is not to be taken lightly. Some of the best demon investigators have been taken down by this thing. And some of the more powerful demons over the years have fallen victim to it.", said Fushikenwa.

"That doesn't mean we will fall victim to it.", said Sesshoumaru.

"So far, we 've seen no signs of anything suspicious around here. The compound is very well protected and ...", started Inuyasha.

"And he has bypassed security before. The entity doesn't have to take the personage of someone to be dangerous. Your wife is a sorceress and your daughters are witches. He could hijack a simple spell and take over one of your inexperienced children. Or even one of your older children. He is evil and he is dangerous."

"So how do you defeat a foe like that?", asked Yasha.

"We're still working on that one, son.", said Fushikenwa, "But the best we can figure out is you don't kill it but you send it back from whence it came."


	24. Chapter 24

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 24

Fushikenwa left the family with a feeling of uneasiness. Inuyasha ordered his family not to perform a single spell while Sesshoumaru ordered Rin to do likewise. Neither man took the chance that this being would catch them off-guard. The family settled down for what they hoped would be a quiet winter season.

The United States Demon Services, or USDS, joind forces with the Royal Canadian Demon Division, or RCDD, in setting up protection for the demon family. Inuyasha had Totousai sharpen Tessaiga and Tenseiga and the two men began carrying their weapons with them, determined to defend their families to no end.

In order to put aside their magic jewelry, the men began laying off human workers from their businesses. While Yasha handed out pink slips and forced retirement papers, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru made sure their loyal workers wanted for nothing. The workers continued to draw their full paychecks and any hardships were taken care of immediately by the two men. Now that only demon workers were present in their offices, the families felt a bit safer travelling to and from work. To ensure further safety, only the most trusted of workers were allowed on the floors where family members worked and transportation was provided by helicopter instead of car.

The families celebrated as Kagome's memory began to return in spurts. Kagome was beginning to feel more at ease as her life began to fall into place.

Inuyasha's family found reason to celebrate when Kagome had an ultrasound and amniocentesis done to check the health of the pup. It was released that she was carrying a son and the other pups celebrated the awaited new arrival. Inuyasha and Yasha began pulling out all the baby furniture that had been packed away and the nursery was repainted and decorated.

Unfortunately, the families also had their lives terrorized.

Kagome would receive photos of her friends from San Diego in grotesque positions, slaughtered. Fushikenwa and his boss, Miramoto, admitted that Soussoun-Pannan was probably still in San Diego, at least some of the time, and that he was responsible for the horrible deaths. Kagome was grief-stricken as she realized that her friends were being killed off simply because they knew her.

One day, it hit all too close to home.

Sesshoumaru and Rin walked into their mansion one afternoon. As Sesshoumaru walked into the kitchen, he was met with a disgusting, disturbing, life-altering sight. There, on the floor, in disturbing positions were their two sons, Taromaru and Eiji, their chests and stomachs sliced open and their innards spread on the floor. It was evident their blood had been taken, just like with the other victims. Sesshoumaru tried to hold Rin ack, to spare her from the sight, but he was too late. Rin saw the carnage and screamed,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY BOYS! MY PRECIOUS BOYS!", and fainted as Sesshoumaru fell to his knees in horror and disbelief at the sight.

On the walls were the words,

"Next it will be you, Diana."

As Sesshoumaru gathered his wits, he called for his servant,

"JAKEN!!"

As he heard the imp coming down the hall, he questioned,

"Where were you when this was ...", Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in disgust and disbelief.

Jaken was covered in blood and was smiling a wicked smile. He reeked of the young men's scents,

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! You will be my next victims!", said a voice that wasn't Jaken's but came from his body.

Sesshoumaru removed Tenseiga from his hip and said a silent, "Forgive me Jaken, but it's better this way." as he yelled out "MEIDOU" and swung Tenseiga, causing the hole to emerge between this world and the next, sending Jaken spinning off into the void. At the last moment, a ghostly white mist emerged from Jaken's body and disappeared with an evil laugh. Sesshoumaru followed the mist, but it disappeared.

Regaining his wits about him, Sesshoumaru picked up the phone and dialed Inuyasha. His words chilled Inuyasha to the bone,

"It's broken through our defenses."

Inuyasha broke the news of the deaths of his nephews to the family and all reacted with grief. They also questioned if their Uncle had heard from his two daughters in Tokyo,

"He was planning to call them when he hung up with me.", said Inuyasha.

The family grieved for their losses as Inuyasha dialed the USDS and got a hold of Fushikenwa,

"You bastard! What's taking you so long in capturing this thing. It attacked and killed my nephews, dammit!"

"It's in your realm? Your family's been attacked?", asked the dumbfounded investigator, "We had him tracked in Washington State. He must have crossed the border undetected somehow."

"No shit Sherlock! Where's our protection?"

"As I said before, this thing has taken down our guys before. He may have taken down our men. I'll fly up there today.", he said as he hung up.

"Lotta good he's gonna do us.", said Inuyasha.

Heading back to the living room, Inuyasha looked outside the window and stared,

'_What is Totousai doing here_?', he wondered.

Inuyasha opened the door to Totousai and froze. He reeked of alcohol and human blood!

Totousai pushed his way past a horrified Inuyasha laughing a horrid laugh with a voice not his own,

"I will have you all, BWAHAHAHAHA!", said whatever was controlling Totousai.

Inuyasha unsheathed the Tessaiga and swung, taking Totousai's head off in one swoop as the family watched in horror.

"I'm sorry, Totousai, but mercy I cannot afford right now!"

He watched in horror as a white mist left Totousai's headless body and flew into the body of Bunza. Instantly, Bunza began turning full demon and a ghastly voice announced,

"I will have you Diana!"

A shocked Inuyasha paled as Bunza grabbed his very pregnant mother and burst through the door, jumped into the Suburban and peeled out of the driveway.


	25. Chapter 25

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 25

Bunza peeled out of the driveway, busting through the front gate, with his mother in the front seat, frozen in fear. What he didn't know was that his littlest sister had stowed away in the back of the Suburban, covered in the fire-rat robe, after Totousai had appeared. The entity now had three hostages in his grasp.

Inuyasha recovered and shouted to Yasha,

"Let's go!"

The two of them ran out and jumped into the Ford F-250 pickup sitting at the front of the drive. Driving like a madman attempting to catch up to the Suburban, Inuyasha skidded around curves and slid across black ice, trying desperately to keep control of his vehicle. It was evident the entity controlling Bunza was having the same sort of problems keeping the wheels of the Suburban on the road.

Amazingly, the chase continued into the nearest town. As pedestrians jumped out of the way, the two cars raced down small town streets, sending other cars off the roadway and hitting parked cars. Eventually, the Suburban made it's way to the nearest highway, with the F-250 hot on it's rear. The Suburban jumped the median and started driving down the wrong way on the highway, causing other cars to swerve to avoid it. Inuyasha noticed flashing blue lights and sirens in his rearview and he cursed. He didn't need human cops getting involved in demon situations,

"Call Sesshoumaru. We need assistance and fast.", he yelled to Yasha.

Inuyasha soon noticed that a helicopter was overhead. He didn't know if it was human or demon and he wasn't going to stop to find out. He continued to chase the wildly driven Suburban through towns, cities and the highway praying that it would run out of gas before he did.

Then it happened. The Suburban misjudged a curve and the truck went careening off the road and down an embankment, cartwheeling over and over before coming to a stop on it's roof and catching fire. Before Inuyasha and Yasha could reach the truck, it was fully involved,

"KAGOMEEEEEE! BUNZAAAA!", Inuyasha screamed as Yasha stared at the wreckage.

Police and firefighters arrived (demons, luckily) and assessed the scene as the fire was put out. Paramedics removed the bodies of Bunza, Kagome and little Tia, wrapped in her father's robe. Inuyasha stared. He didn't know Tia had been inside the truck!

He ran over to the ambulances. He knew the workers were demons and their secrets were safe. He overheard that the victims were being taken to the fire trauma ward st the demon hospital. Climbing back in his truck, he and Yasha raced over there to wait for news of their family. Inuyasha stayed behind while Yasha went and called the other pups and his Uncle to inform them of what had transpired.

As family members poured in to the hospital, the waiting began. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a doctor came out to talk to them,

"Mr. Kateitenma?"

"That's me.", Inuyasha said, getting up to greet the doctor.

"Your little girl will be just fine. Your fire-rat robe protected her. Your son is unconcious with 2nd and 3rd degree burns over more than half his body. I give him about a 25 chance of survival."

"And my wife?"

"She'll be fine. Being as she's a fire sorceress, fire doesn't bother her. She has some burns but she'll live."

"And the baby? How's the baby?"

"Mr. Kateitenma ... I regret to inform you ... your wife's womb was torn open and the baby removed. Her uterus was so badly damaged that we had to remove it to save her life. I have no idea what happened to the baby. I'm so very sorry. You'll be able to go in and see them very soon."

The doctor turned and walked back inside as Inuyasha collapsed into a chair. Thankfully, Tia was alright and so was Kagome. But, Bunza's life was hanging by a thread and the baby was missing. He ran his fingers through his hair in dispair. The rest of the family gathered around their grieving father.

The family eventually took turns seeing their family members. Inuyasha went in to see Bunza,

"Dad,", he croaked out, "Is mother ok?"

"Yes. She'll be fine."

"The baby?"

"The baby was cut out of her womb. We don't know where he is.", said Inuyasha, with tears in his eyes.

"Don't grieve for me, dad. Tell the others the same.", said Bunza, weakly.

"What do you mean, son? You'll be fine."

"Of course, I will.", Bunza said and closed his eyes to rest.

Kagome looked ok for what she had been through, but grieved for her unborn child and Bunza. She and Inuyasha hugged tightly as she grieved for her pups and for pups she would never have,

"I guess we're done with having pups.", she said, tearfully. Her memory was nearly fully restored now.

"I think 122 is plenty, Koshii.", said Inuyasha.

"Yes, you're right, Inuyasha."

Later that night, Fushikenwa joined them. Inuyasha asked,

"What do you think has become of Soussoun-Pannan?"

"He has what he has wanted most of all. A demon to possess. He is the one who took your son. He will raise your son to become what he wants and he will inhabit the body and take over the soul."

"NO HE WON'T! I'LL HUNT HIM DOWN AND FIND MY SON!", screamed an angry Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha. Your son is as good as dead to you. Forget him and carry on with your other children and your wife.", said Fushikenwa.

"NEVER!"

Fushikenwa shook his head, "You'll never succeed. We've been trying for years. Cut your losses and save yourselves.", Fushikenwa said, as he walked away.

Tia and Kagome were released the next morning. Bunza fell asleep and never awoke again.


	26. Chapter 26

TRAGIC SOUL

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz._

_I do however own my own creations._

Chapter 26

Epilogue

BEHOLD THE POWER OF TENSEIGA!

Kagome and Inuyasha sat together in the small chapel praying for their son when Sesshoumaru showed up,

"I heard from the pups that Bunza has fallen victim to this ... entity.", said Sesshoumaru.

"Yes,", sobbed Kagome and then, "TENSEIGA. That's right, you can bring him back."

"Tenseiga lets me know who should and shouldn't be brought back. It did urge me to use it on my sons ..."

"Well, dammit, then use it on mine...", commented Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha ...show some restraint. Bunza's life is in his hands after all.", encouraged Kagome, "Please awaken my boy, Sesshoumaru."

"Take me to him. If it is Tenseiga's will ...", Sesshoumaru started.

"Follow me,", said Inuyasha, "I will take you to him."

Demon hospitals have a room set aside for the dead bodies to be placed before heading to the morgue. This is where families can decide on what they want done with the bodies. The hospital staff knew that the demon that could control life and death was related to the Kateitenma family and so here lay Bunza Kateitenma's body.

As they walked, Sesshoumaru informed Inuyasha,

"Tenseiga willed me to revive Totousai, why I have no idea. Unfortunately, I sent Jaken to the netherworld through the Meidou. I am not sure if I can revive him. I plan to head to Japan and travel to the border between this world and the next in the Realm of Fire and see if I can revive him."

"So you do care ...", said Inuyasha.

"HMPH!", was the only response he got.

They arrived at the room where Bunza's body lay. Sesshoumaru felt Tenseiga vibrate at his hip,

'_So your will is that he should be revived, Tenseiga? Fine. I will do just that_.', thought Sesshoumaru.

After viewing the emissaries from the underworld and slicing them apart, Bunza began to awaken,

"Papa? What ...what happened? Was I dead?"

"Yes,", said Inuyasha, through tears, "Yes, but Tenseiga brought you back."

"It really works? Gee, I thought it was just a story.", said Bunza.

"I'm glad to see your sense of humor returned as well, nephew.", said Sesshoumaru.

"Thank you for saving me, Uncle."

His only reply was a curt nod as Sesshoumaru turned to leave. Inuyasha followed,

"Keep him out of danger. Once Tenseiga revives someone he cannot be revived again.", said Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru. Kagome's friends ..."

"Are beyond my help. They have already been buried. Could you imagine the chaos that would ensue if they were to return from the dead?"

"Of course. I should have realized.", Inuyasha turned to go,

"Inuyasha,"

"Yes?"

"About the missing infant..."

"Kagome and I are torn up about it. This ... this thing did it's homework. It knew that at 6 months the infant was old enough to be born because it was a hanyou. Kagome was due in 2 weeks."

"Rin has offered a memory spell to you, Kagome and the pups. The spell would change your memory to believe that the infant was stillborn and that the birth damaged Kagome beyond repair."

"Sure ...that would be helpful. I can't bear to see Kagome like this.", said Inuyasha.

"Fine. Rin will come by tomorrow. Be ready."

"Certainly. And Sesshoumaru ... thanks for saving my son. And I'm glad you were able to revive yours as well."

"It was ..."

"Yea, I know, Tenseiga's will ... I know. See you later."

Sesshoumaru turned and left as Inuyasha rejoined his son. They headed down to the chapel where Kagome was beside herself with joy at seeing her boy walking again. The trip home was bittersweet, for as they rejoiced in the joy of having one son back, they were disheartened at the loss of another. Arriving home, Inuyasha gathered everyone together. He informed them of Rin offering to perform a memory spell to change their memories of what happened to the infant. All agreed it was a good idea. All but Inuyasha.

Rin arrived the next morning and went to work. After finishing with Kagome, the pups, spouses and their pups, she found Inuyasha out in the yard, staring at some robins having arrived early for spring,

"Inuyasha. You're the last one.", said Rin, quietly.

"I decline, Rin, thank you."

"What do you mean? You heard Fushikenwa ...the child is as good as dead."

"My son is out there. And someday I will find him. I will discover a way to defeat this ... this thing that destroyed my family. No, I refuse to take the easy way out. I will keep my memories."

"It's your decision. And your heartbreak. Sometimes, I think you are more hard-headed than Sesshoumaru ..."

"Thanks!"

"That wasn't a compliment!"

"Thank you, anyway, Rin for your offer. But, I'll pass."

Rin shrugged her shoulders and walked back inside. It had started to snow. Inuyasha watched as small flakes landed on his sweater. He remembered Tia's words of anger,

_"WE'RE DEMONS AND WE'RE DIFFERENT!"_

'_Yes, we're different. And that's how I will be able to find my son. Because he's different. It may not be today or tomorrow but someday I will find you, my son_.'

A/N: The sequel is posted! Check out "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle."


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